This unusual and interesting name has two possible origins, the first of which is from a medieval English and Old French nickname for a proud, haughty or disdainful person. The nickname derives from the Middle English and Old French word 'hautain', haughty, a derivative of the Old French 'haut', high, lofty, from the Latin 'altus'. The first recording of the surname from this source appears in 1242, in the form of Robert Hauteyn who is listed in the Lincolnshire Book of Fees for that year. The second possible origin for the modern surname, found as Hawtin and Haytayne, is Anglo-Saxon, from an occupational name for a servant employed in the manor of a feudal lord, derived from the Old English pre 7th Century 'h(e)all', hall, manor, with 'thegn', thane, noble retainer or attendant. One Deborah Hawtyn was christened in London in February 1648, and Thomas Hawtin married Anne Tibbett at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London, on May 9th 1661. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Halteyn, which was dated 1134, The Book of St. Benet of Holme, Norfolk, during the reign of King Stephen, 'Count of Blois', 1135-1154. 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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