Of Viking Norse origin and derived from the popular pre 8th Century personal name, 'Porsteinn' which translates as 'Thors Stone' - from the God Thor (meaning Hammer) and from which developed 'Thursday'. There are many modern spellings as a surname ranging from Thurstan, Thurston, Thursting etc. to Tustian, Tutin, Tuftin, Tuton, Tuting and even Dusting. As a name it appeared in the Domesday Book as Turstan, Turstinus, Tursten, the earliest surname not appearing before the 13th Century. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Wimer Purstan which was dated 1221, The Abbey of Ely. during the reign of King Henry 111 the Frenchman, 1216 - 1272 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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