This surname is a patronymic form of Jerome, which itself has two possible origins. Firstly, it may have originated from the Old French, Middle English personal name "Jerome", ultimately from the Greek "Hieronymos", composed of the elements "hieros", sacred, and "onyma", name. However, there has been some confusion between this personal name and the Old Germanic personal name "Ger(r)am, Gerrannus", composed of the Germanic elements "geri, gari", spear, and "hraban", raven. The "-s" suffix indicates a patronymic form, hence the name means "son of Jerome". The popularity of the personal name is due to St. Jerome (347 - 420), who wrote the Vulgate, the standard Latin version of the Bible, and was probably first introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066. The personal name "Geram" is recorded in Lincolnshire, circa 1154, while the surname itself first appears in its original form in the late 12th Century (see below). Early examples include: Roger Geram (Leicestershire, 1333); Robert Jerme (Suffolk, 1543); and Peter Jeromes, in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York, 1604. Richard, son of Ralph Jeromes, was born on October 17th 1653, at Whitby, Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Geran, which was dated 1194, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of Shropshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.