Recorded as Mounce, Mounch, Mouncey, Mounsey, Munehay, Muncie and others, this is an English surname, but one which is ultimately of Norman - French origins. It is locational from the village of Moncequz in the departements of Calvados and Orne, or Monchaux in Nord and Seine-maritime. The placenames are derived from the plural form of the Old French word "moncel", meaning a hillock, from the Latin word "monticellum". Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The name development since 1086 (see below) includes the following: Milisant de Muncehaus (1185, Lincolnshire), William Munci (1198, Gloucestershire) and Walter de Mouncy (1300, Cambridgeshire). An early example of the recordings is that of the marriage of John Mounch and Mildred Want on May 23rd 1670 at Much Hadham. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Moncels. This was dated 1086, in the famous Domesday Book, and during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.