This interesting surname of English origin, is a dialectal variant of the locational name Stanhoe in Norfolk, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "stan" meaning "stone" plus "hoh" "ridge", or Stanhope in County Durham, deriving from the Old English pre 7th "stan" plus "hop" meaning "enclosed valley". The surname dates back to the mid 12th Century, (see below). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Stannah, Stanner, Staner, Stener, etc.. One Kateryne Stanner married Robert Sayer on November 23rd 1540, at St. Pancreas, Soper Lane, London, and Alice, daughter of Thomas Stanner, was christened on January 6th 1559, at St. Dunstan in the East, London. Thomas Stenner married Parnell Blackbworne on January 26th 1612, at St. Mary in the Marsh, Norwick, Norfolk. One Margaret Stennes married Anthony Kough at St. Anne Soho, Westminster, on February 16th 1790. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas de Stanhoc, which was dated circa 1146, The Social Structure of Medieval East Anglia, Norfolk", during the reign of King Stephen, "Count of Blois", 1134 - 1154. 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.