This very interesting surname is usually considered to be of French locational origins from the Village of "Etampes" in the Department of Seine et Oise, Normandy. The name is a very early recording in England and may be associated with the 12th century crusades and the reign of Richard the Lionheart, the dates being comparable. Although legend has Richard 1st as the true Englishman, he employed a lot of French soldiers in the Holy Land, and brought many back to England. In the medieval period, the words 'Stamp' or 'Stamper' were also given as a metonymic to those who worked at the Royal Mints, the Mint being associated with the striking or stamping of coins. Some name holders will probably originate from this source. Recorded as Stamp(e) and Stemp(e) the later surname development includes Ann Stempe who married Moses Elliott on July 16th 1577, by civil licence in London, Allen Stampe christened at St. Giles, Cripplegate in 1664; and Lydia Stamp who married William Davis on August 4th 1694, at St. James Church, Dukes Place, London. A coat of arms was granted in Hertfordshire (circa 1790) of a blue field charged with the blazon of an ermine chevron between three lions legs erased gold. The crest is a greyhounds head in black. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John De Stampes, which was dated 1191, in the London City Pipe Rolls, during the reign of King Richard 1, "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.