Sullens - Name

This rare and interesting name is of Norman French origin and is the Anglicization of the name Seullein, a locational name from the river Seulles, which rises in the region of "St. Martin des Besaces", finally ending its journey at "Courseulles", a small costal village near "Bayeux", famous for its tapestry. It is likely that this name would be given to a person on leaving the area, as a means of identification, and, being first recorded in London in the beginning of the 17th Century at the French Huguenot Church (see below) is indicative of a French Huguenot exile seeking refuge from religious persecution. The name is recorded at St. Giles, Cripplegate in its present form with the christening of one Jon Sullens on May 16th 1658, and later still in St. Dunstan's, Stepney with the christening of Martha Sullens on September 4th 1720. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Marye Seullein, which was dated April 26th 1601, French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1601. 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.