This surname of English origin derives from a nickname for a gentle person from the middle English "whit" meaning "white" plus "lamb" lamb, hence "white lamb". The surname dates back to the late 14th Century (see below). Further recordings include one Richard Whitelomb (1428), "Dugdale's Warwickshire and Richard Whitelomb (1488) "The Register of the Guild of Corpus Christi in the city of York". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Whytlam, Whitelum, Whitlum, etc.. One Christopher Whitlam, son of Christopher was christened on November 4th 1610 at St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London. Richard Whitlam married Julian Jones at St. Gregory by St. Paul, London on April 13th 1615, and Kent, son of Abraham and Alice Whitelamb was christened at St. Sepulchre, London on November 24th 1706. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alice Whitlambe, which was dated 1379, "The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Richard 11, "Richard of Bordeaux", 1377 - 1399. 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.