This interesting surname has two possible sources; firstly, it may be of Old French origin, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066, and is an example of the sizeable group of early European surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to a variety of characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, mental and moral characteristics, including supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition, or to habits of dress and occupation. The derivation is from the Olde French "talon", heel, and the nickname would have been given to a swift runner or to someone with a deformed heel. The surname may also be from a Germanic personal name derived from the element "tal", destroy, either as a short form of a compound name with this first element, or as an independent byname. The surname is first recorded in the mid 12th Century (see below). Hugh Talon is listed in the 1180 Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, and Johanna Taloun is noted in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk (1327). Recordings of the surname from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Elizabeth Tallon and Benjamin Drake on June 12th 1671, at the Temple Church of England, London; and the marriage of Edward Tallon and Margaret Lambert, on November 29th 1725, at Ingleton, Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Talon, which was dated 1160, in the "Documents relating to the Danelaw, Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.