This interesting surname has three origins. It may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Middle English given name "Lefman", the Olde English pre 7th Century "Leofman", composed of the elements "leof" meaning "dear", "beloved" plus "mann", man, or a nickname for a lover or sweetheart, from the Middle English "lem(m)an" meaning beloved "man" or "woman". It may also be of Scottish and Irish origin, deriving from the medieval given name "Lagman", which is from the Old Norse "Logmaor", composed of the elements "log" meaning "law", plus "maor", man. The surname dates back to the late 12th Century (see below), and further early recordings include William Lemmon, who was recorded in the 1275 Subsidy Rolls of Sussex. Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Leeman, Leeman, Limon and Leman. Timothy, son of Thomas Lemon, was christened at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London, on March 14th 1585. John Lemon, aged 20 yrs., a famine emigrant, sailed from Liverpool aboard the "Rappahanock" bound for New York in June 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reiner Leman, which was dated 1185, in the "Knights Templars Records of Essex", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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