The ancient personal names of either Matthew or Matilda, are the origins of Metson, Motson or Matson, which are themselves developed forms of the patronymic Maddison. Quite why so many nickname variants were created in the medieval period is one of the mysteries of etymology, but certainly the alternatives run into dozens if not hundreds. The name recordings include the following examples: Annes Madesonnes of Cornhill, London (1558), Jon Matson of Stepney (1642), William Maddison of Durham (1435), Catherina Matteson of Littleton (1620), Petrus Motson of Westminster (1641), John Meetson of Cripplegate, London (1610) and the final development Frederick Bryan Metson a witness at St. Lukes, Charlton on April 28th 1816. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Madyson, which was dated 1425, The Friary Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry VI, "The Founder of Eton College", 1422 - 1461. 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.