This unusual and interesting name is of Swiss and French origin; it is a locational surname from the place called 'Granson' on Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland, near the border with France. In Europe the first known bearer of the surname is Rigaldus de Grancione (flourished 1040). The surname was brought to England by the Otho de Grandison recorded below, and his brother, who were sons of the Lord of Granson. They were among a group of Savoyards who settled in England after Henry 111 had married a granddaughter of the Count of Savoy. The surname development includes Peter de Grandisson (1335, Wiltshire) and Roger Graundisson (1397, Yorkshire), while the place called 'Stretton Grandison' in Herefordshire was held by William de Grande, Soho in 1303. John Grandison (1292 - 1369) was appointed Bishop of Exeter in 1327. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Otho de Grandison, which was dated 1280, in the Great Chartulary of Glastonbury, Somerset, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as the Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. 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.