This interesting name is of Old Germanic origin, adopted into Polish and other Slavic counties as a patronymic surname some time in the Middle Ages. The name derives from a short or hypocoristic form of any of the various Germanic male personal names which had as the first element the Old German "ragin", counsel. Typical examples of such names are "Raginmund", composed of "ragin" as before, with "mund", protection, Anglicized as "Raymond", and the Old German "Raginhard, Rainard", composed of "ragin" and "hard", brave, hardy, strong, which was Anglicized as "Reynard". The surnames deriving from "ragin" include the English, Rayne, Rain(e); French, Renne, and German diminutive forms Re(i)nisch, Ron(t)sch and Ronisch, from which the Polish Ronchka derives. Anna Maria Ronschka was christened in Andernach, Germany, on October 5th 1813, while one Theresa Ronchka married Joseph Gradisha in Michigan in 1891. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gerhardt Ronch (baptism), which was dated February 19th 1691, Buldern, Westphalia, during the reign of Leopold 1, known as "The Holy Roman Emperor", 1658 - 1705. 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.