This is a very interesting surname which apparently has been long recorded in England, what is much more difficult to decide is the origin. There are in fact several "candidates" for this, it could be Irish from the same "root" as Guinness, (Mag-Aonghuis), translating as the "son of Angus" and found in early English recordings as Giness (1734) and Gines (1768). However it is much more likely to be of French origin and to derive from either "genes" (from the Latin "Genesius"), meaning "one who is well born", or "Genest", a habitational or job descriptive name for one who lived by or planted vegetables. Both these names are recorded heraldically for France, whilst in the modern spelling David Genese is found at St. Andrews Church, Holborn on October 20th 1855. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Geenous, which was dated August 1657, a witness at St. Botolphs church, Bishopgate, London, during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, "The Lord Protector", 1650 - 1658. 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.