Fallow

This most interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a topographical name for a dweller by the newly cultivated land or fallow land, from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "fealh", Middle English "falwe", fallow. This word was used both of land which was left uncultivated for a time to recover its fertility, and of land which was recently brought into cultivation. In some instances, the surname may have been a ickname for someone with tawny hair, from the Olde English "fealu", Middle English "fallow", yellow, tawny. The "-s" ending indicates a genitive form of the name (which indicates "of" a place). The modern surname can be found as Fallow, Fallows, and Fallowes. The earliest known namebearer was given lands so named in the parish of Nether Alderley, Cheshire, by his brother Henry de Aldford, both descended from Robert Bigot, a companion of William the Conqueror, who was granted extensive estates in Cheshire. Other early examples include Ralph de la Falewe (Hampshire, 1272); Henry de Falg(h) (Sussex, 1327); and Thomas del Falghes (Cheshire, 1376). Fearon Fallows (1789 - 1831) was a notable astronomer, who catalogued the chief southern stars (1824) and was also director of the astronomical observatory at the Cape of Good Hope. A Coat of Arms was granted to a Fallowes family at Fallowes in Cheshire, a younger branch of the Aldford family, which depicts a gold camel on a green shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert del Falwiz, which was dated circa 1190, in the "Cheshire Records", 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.