This is a job descriptive Dutch version of the medieval English "Gent or Gaunt" - meaning a wool-worker or specifically a weaver from the Ancient City of Ghent in Flanders. There are many variants of the name spelling including Van Gent, Van Ghent, De Gent, Degand, Weygand, De Gand, Degant, Gantois, Gandois, Gont, Gent and Gaunt, and the job descriptive De Gentener, De Gentner, Gaunter, Gander and Gantier. The name was specifically associated with glove making and although now out of use, a "Gaunter" was a typical medieval trade name. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam le Gaunter, which was dated 1220, The Kings Rolls of Middlesex, during the reign of King Henry III, "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.