This unusual and interesting surname is derived from the old French "Estalon" meaning "a stallion". It applied to a person who was "a begetter", "a man of lascivious life". The surname dates back to the early 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include Alexander Stalon (1275) "The Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire", and John Staloun (1327) "The Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Stallen, Stallan, Stallion, etc. One Phillipp Stawlinge married Jarvis Forreste on September 24th 1579 at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London. Thomas, son of Emmanuell Stallen, was christened at St. Giles Cripplegate, London on May 26th 1605, and Richard Stallon married Ann Mortimore at St. Margaret, Westminster, on May 14th 1695. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alfwin Stalun, which was dated 1202, "The Feet of Fines", Norfolk, during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.