This unusual surname is a Northern English variant form of the medieval "Lambkin", itself of Anglo-Saxon pre 7th Century origins. The earliest name form was "Lambert", which translates as "bright lands", a popular personal name of the pre 1066 Norman invasion period. Later the name was foreshortened to "Lamb", to which was then added "in" or more correctly, "kin", to describe "the son of Lamb", or possibly "the kinsman of Lamb". An example of this early form was John Lambyn in the 1302 Fines Court Rolls of Essex. Other recordings include Thomas Lamkyn, christened on August 4th 1557, at the Church of Holy Trinity the Less, London, in the reign of Mary 1 of England (1554 - 1558), known as "Bloody Mary". In October 1665, the recording of Richard Lampkin is found with the "b" changed to "p". On February 24th 1813, John Limpkin was christened at Rillington, East Yorkshire, whilst on September 2nd 1838, a John Limpkins was a witness at Sculthorpe, near Hull, and he may be the original Limpkin(s). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Lambin, which was dated 1292, in the "Subsidy Rolls of the City of London", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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