This interesting and unusual name is of Cornish habitational origin from any of the various places so called from the Cornish "tre", homestead or settlement, plus a mutated from of the Breton personal name Conan, derived from an element meaning "high" and "mighty". The surname, with variant spellings Tregonyen, Tregoginn, Tregonnan etc. is particularly well recorded in Cornish church registers from the latter part of the 16th Century. On January 27th 1578, Johan, daughter of Water Tregoginn, was christened in East Newlyn, and on October 22nd 1633, Wilmus Tregonnan and Alicia Lamerton were married in St. Mary's, Truro. The birth of one, Joseph Tregoning was recorded in Budock on May 2nd 1654, and on May 22nd 1693, Nicholas, son of Henry Treqoning, was christened in Gwennap. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Tregonyon, (marriage to Margaret Kent), which was dated October 17th 1574, Pillaton, Cornwall, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "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.

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