This most interesting and unusual surname is of Old French origin, and is a diminutive name from the Old French personal name "Hu(gh)e", plus the diminutive suffix "-ey", which denotes smallness or affection, familiarity. The personal name "Hugh" is a short orm of any of the various Germanic compound names with the first element "hug", heart, mind, spirit; it was a popular name among the Normans, due to the fame of St. Hugh of Lincoln (1140 - 1200), who was born in Burgundy and established the first Carthusian monastery in England. The Church Registers of France indicate that the name was concentrated in the Landecourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle region of France. Early examples of the surname include the christening of Mary, daughter of William and Christina Hully, on April 10th 1649 at the Church of St. Botolph without Aldgate, London; the christening of Ann Huly at St. Giles Cripplegate, London, on September 1st 1658; the christening of Anne Marguerite Hully on February 9th 1752 at Landecourt, Meurthe-et-Mosselle; and the marriage of Marie Hully and Leopold Beurguin at Landecourt, on February 6th 1753. A Coat of Arms was granted to a Hully family at Burgundy, France, depicting three red lions, two in chief, one in base, on a silver shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Hullaye, which was dated September 6th 1563, a christening witness at Christ Church, Greyfriars, Newgate, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.