This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval English origin, and ultimately derives from a Germanic personal name derived from "geri" or "gari", spear, itself a short form of the various compound names with this first element, such as Garrett (spear - brave), Garbutt (spear-messenger), and Garbett (spear-bright). The personal name was introduced into England in the Old French form of "Geri", from the Old German "Geric". The modern surnames "Gearing" and "Geering" are the patronymic forms of the personal name, meaning "son of Geri, or Gari". One Sewal Geryng is recorded in the Sussex Subsidy Rolls of 1296. The marriage of Anthony Geering and Elizabeth Potter on the 16th September 1647, at St. Katherine by the Tower, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Gering (witness), which was dated 1202, in the "Lancashire Assize Rolls", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.