This interesting name has two possible origins, the first of which is from an Anglo-Saxon topographical surname for someone who lived in the country, as opposed to a town, or on an estate. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "land", land, territory, used in the Middle Ages with the specialised senses mentioned. The second possible origin of the modern surname "Land" is from the early medieval English and Old French topographical surname for someone who lived in a forest glade, derived from the Middle English and Old French "la(u)nde". In some cases the surname may be locational, from the place called "Launde" in Leicestershire, which is recorded as "Landa" in 1163. An alternative form of the surname from this source is "Lawn". The marriage of Richard Land and Elizabeth Fuller was recorded at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London, in 1579. George Land, aged 22 yrs., and Sarah Land, aged 18 yrs., who embarked from the Dorset port of Weymouth in March 1635, were among the earliest bearers of the name to settle in New England. A Coat of Arms granted to the Land family is a shield divided by a gyronny of eight gold and black, with a red bend, the Crest being a church entwined with trees proper. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas de la Lande, which was dated 1205, in the "Northamptonshire Pipe Rolls", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.