This unusual and interesting name is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and is an example of the fondness of the English people in medieval times for creating surnames from nicknames. In this instance, the name 'Shimming' or 'Shemming' is a nickname for a person with noticeably fair, blond or golden hair, the derivation being from the old English pre 7th century word 'sciming', derived from 'scima', meaning 'bright'. The name development has included 'Richard Shymmying' (1297 Warwicks), 'Robert Shimmon" (1775) and Amy Shimming' (1787), the last two mentioned being from Suffolk. One 'Susammah Shemming' was married to Rovwert Webber on the 3rd October 1738 at St. Dunstans in stepney, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Schemmeng. which was dated 1279, The Cambridgeshire Hundred Rolls. during the reign of King Edward I, Thots, 1272 - 1307. 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.

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