This is an English surname. It is a diminutive of the popular surname Lamb, itself nothing to do with sheep or even an endearment, but a transposing and fusing of the pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon compound personal name and later surname, Lambert. This itself is a transposing of land to lam with "land" actually meaning land in the sense of possession of land and "beorht" - bright or famous. In the case of this surname the suffix kin has been added to provide the diminutive of "Little or small Lamb" but more literally son of Lamb. There are several modern forms of the name including Lambkin, Lampkin, Lamkin and others. Early examples and recordings of the development include Edward Lampkinge baptised at Holy Trinity church in the city of London on July 3rd 1555, and Anthony Lamking at St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on May 3rd 1613, whilst Rogerus Lambkin married Hannah Bowen on September 29th 1649 at St. Martins in the Field, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Lambekyn, which was dated 1301, in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward Ist known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.