This interesting name is of Old German origin, and is one of the patronymic forms of the Germanic personal name Eberhard, found mainly in the Rhineland area of Germany. The old personal name was composed of the elements "eber", wild boar, with "hard", brave, hardy, strong, and was popular throughout Europe in the early Middle Ages, generating a large number and variety of surnames, such as the English forms Everard and Everett, the French Evrard and Ebrard, and the German Eberhard(t) and Ebert. Among the patronymic forms found in Germany are Ebers, Evers, Eber(t)z, Evertz, Effertz, Gottfried, Effnert, son of Carl Wilhelm and Louise, was recorded in Aachen, the Rhineland, on September 26th 1837, while in London one Carl August Effner married Jane Elizabeth Harman at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Efnet (marriage to John Austen), which was dated August 3rd 1684, St. Katherine by the Tower, London, during the reign of King Charles 11, "The Merry Monarch", 1660 - 1685. 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.