Fromant

This long-established surname has two distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, Froment may be of Old French origin, and a metonymic occupational name for a corn merchant, deriving from the Old French "froment", corn, grain, ultimately from the Latin "frumentum". Job-descriptive surnames initially denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The second ossibility is that the name is of French origin, but ultimately from the Old German male given name "Frodmund", a compound of the elements "frod", prudent, and "mund", protection. Both these surnames were introduced into England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the personal name "Frumond" (without surname) is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 for Yorkshire. A Fromont de Macels was noted in Documents relating to the Danelaw, Lincolnshire, dated 1154, and in 1243, one Thomas Fromund, witness, appears in the Assize Court Rolls of Staffordshire. On October 12th 1610, Brice Froment and Remiette Landragin were married at Rumigny, Ardennes, France, and on May 13th 1723, Estienne Froment, an infant, was christened at Savoye de Spring Gardens, French Huguenot Church, London, showing the reintroduction of Froment as a French Huguenot surname. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Fromund, which was dated 1203, in the "Pipe Rolls of Dorset", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.