This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a dialectal variant of the locational name Mappleton, from places so called in Derbyshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. The placenames are composed of the Middle English "mapel", a development of the Olde English pre 7th Century "mapul" meaning maple, plus the Olde English "tun" farm, homestead. The places are recorded as "Mapletune" and "Mapletone" respectively in the Domesday Book of 1086. The surname dates back to the late 13th Century (see below). Early recordings include Thomas de Mapelton (1273) in the Hundred Rolls of Derbyshire, and variations in the spelling of the surname include Mappleton, Mapleston, Mappleston, and Mapplestone. London Church Records list the christenings of William, son of John Mappleston, on November 26th 1576 at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, and Richard, son of Richard and Joane Maplestone, in 1629 at St. Olave's, Silver Street. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is black, a silver cross formee fitchee. The Crest is out of a blue mural crown, two arms embowed in armour proper and sustaining a red flag flotant to the sinister gold staff. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Mapelton, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Derbyshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, 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.