The name is locational and derives from one of the Marston towns and villages in England. The name is Olde English pre 9th Century and translates as The Farm (or Hamlet) on the Marsh - from 'Mersche-Tun'. The first recordings show the name spread as being found in the 13th Century in Oxford, Bedford, Lincoln and Hereford and most unusually all with the same spelling of Merston. The modern spelling which now applies to most locations and surnames, is first recorded in 1349 as John de Marston of Cambridge. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugh de Merstona. which was dated 1170, The Pipe of Eynsham. during the reign of King Henry 111, The Builder 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.