This is generally a locational name of olde English pre 7th Century origins and translates as "the Grey haired person's (Gris) Farm (Tun), or derives from the village of Griston in Norfolk. The modern spellings include Grissin, Grisson and Griston and are complicated by the introduction on the olde French descriptive word grison after the 1066 invasion, some of todays name holders owing their name to the French nickname. The name variants also probably include "Grifton", "s" and "f" being largely interchangeable in Middle English. David Grifton being a member of Col. Richard Baylie's Regiment in Barbadoes in 1679. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Grisun. which was dated 1221, The Pipe Rolls of Warwick. 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.

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