This interesting surname is of early medieval French origin, and is a locational name from Marson, a place near Chalons-sur-Marne, fifty miles east of Parish so called from Mars, a popular form of the saints name Medardus, with the diminutive suffix "-on". St. Medardus was bishop of Noyon in the 5th and 6th Centuries, and his name is a Latinized form of the Germanic "math-hard", a personal name composed of the elements "math", strength, and "hard", hardy, brave, strong. The popular version of the name "Meard, Mard" remains as "Meard, Merd" and "Mars" in various placenames including Mars in Ardennes, Creuse, Gard, Loire and Meurthe-et-Moselle; Marsin, two hamlets in Indre-et-Loire; and Marsan in Gers. This surname is originally believed to have been introduced into England by followers of William the Conqueror in the wake of the Norman Conquest (1066), and was reintroduced by French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution in their own country following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis X1V in 1685. On August 31st 1712, Marianne, daughter of Jean Marson and Jeanne Noyer, was christened at La Patente French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, London. Earlier recordings from France include the christening of Jeanne Francoise Marson at Froville, Meurthe-et-Moselle, on October 9th 1689, and the marriage of Pierre Marson to Marianne Rouchette at Le Pouzin, Ardeche, on February 10th 1711. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Charles Marsone, which was dated July 23rd 1566, a christening witness, at St. Giles' Cripplegate, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.