A Spanish nickname surname which derives from the Latin Dominus meaning 'he who is the master'. The popularity of the name on the medieval continent produced over one hundred and sixty variant and alternative spellings including Dimanche (Paris) Demaige (Burgundy) Domengue (Gascony) Domenico (Venice) Mingo, Minghi (Spain) Menco (Italy) Domonkos (Hungary) etc. Minghini and Minchino being examples of the patronymic 'son of Dominus'. The popularity of the name was largely owing to the founder of the Dominican Order of monks. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of St, Dominicus which was dated 1170 - 1221, The Dominican Order. during the reign of King Louis 1X of France C. 1206 - 1262. 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.