This unusual name is an East Anglian variant, all be it, an old one, of the medieval patronymic surname 'Lambkin' - 'the son (kin) of Lamb(ert)'. The true origin is the Saxon 'Land - beoht' which translates as colloquially as 'bright land', and dates from the pre 7th Century. The name was a Norman introduction to England after 1066, and the popularity of Lambert I, 890 - 898, the Holy Roman Emperor ensured that the surname as 'Lambert', developed a wide range of variant spellings. These recordings inlcude William Lambekyne, 1301, the Yorkshire Pipe Rolls, John Lamkyn, 1379, witness at the Colcester Court, Essex and Susanna Lumpkin, who married at St. Dunstans, Stepney in 1719. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Lumkin, which was dated 1614, married Sara Baker at Boxted, Essex, during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scotland 1603 - 1625. 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.