This unusual name is a metonymic for a "Keeper of a Vineyard", the usual modern spelling being Vinter, Vintor or Winter. It has been suggested that as the name is clearly Norman-French in origin, it could be a nickname which derives from "Vent" to mean a "blustery person". This is possible but unproven, the original name being almost certainly Saulfus Vineter, recorded in Oxford in 1170 or Richard le Vyntener, 1327, Lancashire. The name development includes - Anthony Vynt (Baptised), St. Giles Cripplegate in 1592, whilst Mary Vent married Robert Ashby at St. Bartholomew The Less, in 1611 and in 1622 Margaret Vint married George Tayler at St. Martin in Vintry, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Vinte which was dated 1589, Married Thomas Wingar at Tottneham Church, London. during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, 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.