This interesting surname, of English origin, with variant spellings Stacy, Stacey, Stacye, and Stace, is a pet form of the personal name "Eustace", itself coming from the Greek "Eustakhios" meaning "fruitful". The name was in use in Britain before the Norman Conquest of 1066. Recordings of the personal name include Stacius (1147 - 1165), recorded in "Catularium Monasterii, St. John the Baptist de Colecestria, Essex", and Stacius de Hant (1187), in the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire. The surname dates back to the late 13th Century (see below), and early recordings include Roger Stace (1279), in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire. Recordings from London Church Registers include the christening of William Stacy, on December 29th 1545, at St. Benet Fink, and the marriage of William Stacey and Margaret Yeatman on May 16th 1608, at St. Antholin's, Budge Row. One William Stacy, an emigrant to America, purchased a ticket in the Barbados for passage aboard the "Society" bound for Boston on March 11th 1678. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Stacy, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Devonshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 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.