There are two possible origins for the "Stitson" surname. The first, and the one which applies to most name holders is as a patronymic derivative form of "Stot or Stott", an Old English metonymic for a cattle dealer, or a nickname for a particularly wild, young person. The second possibility wild, young person. The second possibility is as a derived form of the Anglo-Saxon "Stytt", which means to strike or knock, and this again was a form of nickname, possibly for a boxer or fighter. The modern surname is recorded in a variety of spellings, examples of the "links" from the first recorded spelling as shown include, Francis Stitson, a witness at St. Marys Church, Kensington on March 4th 1606, whilst James Stidston, a dialectal development, first appears in circa 1699 in London. The american "Stetson" is a further derivative, not found in the U.K. in the early records. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Stotson, which was dated August 29th 1570, who was christened at St. Mary Abchurch, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.