Perhaps not surprisingly this name is found in a wide variety of spellings but all derive back to the double diminutive compound "the son (kin) of Harry's son", a hereditary form of name creation similar to the Irish "O". The origins of the name date from the early Norman "Henry", to the "English" nickname Harry and thus to the variant patronymics such as "Harrison". The modern surname examples include William Harriskine, a witness at St. Mary Whitechapel on October 30th 1773, and Elizabeth Hariskine who was the daughter of the above William but who is recorded with only one "R" in her name. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of James Harskins, which was dated 1623, christened at St. Margarets, Westminster, during the reign of King James I, of England and VI of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.