This interesting name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name Eastmund, a compound of the element "east" meaning "grace", plus "mund", protection. The name is first recorded as Estmunt in the Domesday Book of 1086 for Suffolk. One, Ricardus filius (son of) Estmund appears in the 1195 "Pipe Rolls of Essex". The surname emerges in the early half of the 13th Century, (see below). A John Eastmunde is recorded in the 1277, "Assize Court Rolls of Somerset" and an Alan Esmund in the 1285 "Fine Court Rolls of Essex". In the "modern" idiom the name has five spelling variations:- Eastman, Eastment, Astman, Esmond and Esmonde. On May 23rd 1686, Allexander Eastman, an infant was christened in St. Katherines by the Tower, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Stephen Estmund, witness. which was dated 1227, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Buckinghamshire". during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "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.