Recorded in the spellings of Sponer, Spooner and Spuner, this is an English surname. It is job descriptive, and derives from pre 8th century word "spon" which means a curved wooden roof tile or shingle, and hence the surname describes a maker, fitter, or merchant of these early building products. Curiously it would seem that the surname has nothing to do with the making of curved eating utensils, although the origin lies with the word "spon". Spoons, at least in Britain, were rarely if ever used before the 15th century, and are later than the surname itself. The term "spoonerisms", a humourous description referring to letter transpositions such as "Bass the pat" instead of "Pass the bat" was named after the Rev. W. A. Spooner (1844 - 1930), a vicar famous for his oratorical lapses. The surname was originally found only in the north of England, and does not appear in the southern records before the 15th Century. Early examples of recordings include: Robertus Sponer, Willium Sponer and Henricus Spuner, all in the Poll Tax rolls for Yorkshire in 1379. John Sponer, also recorded as John Spooner appears in the burial register of St James Church, Clerkenwell, city of London, for the year 1585, whilst in 1625 John Spooner and Florence Fryer are recorded as marrying in London by civil licence. The Spooner family of Wickhamford, Worcester were granted 'arms' by the Clarenceaux Herald in 1589. The blazon is Azure, a silver boars head, armed gold and couped gules. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Roger Lesponere. This was dated 1179, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry 11nd of Engand, 1154 - 1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop," often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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