Lamont - Meno

Recorded in several forms including Lamont, Lamond, Lammond, Lemont, Lomond, and others, this is a medieval surname of Scottish origins. It is however ultimately derived from the pre 7th century Old Norse given name "Logmathr", composed of the elements "log", meaning law, with "mathr", the genitive form of mann, meaning man. The name therefore could have been job descriptive and to have described a lawyer, or perhaps was given at baptism in the pious hope that the child would become a lawyer! The surname as Lawman or Lagman is also found in the districts of England where there were Scandinavian settlements, especially in Cumbria and Lancashire. In Scotland the name is most associated with Ayrshire and Argyllshire. As a personal name it is first recorded in Scotland in 1116 as Ladmunn and in England in 1242 as Laghman. An interesting bearer of the name was Johann von Lamont (1805 - 1879), the distinguished Bavarian astronomer and magnetician, who was born John Lamont, son of the Earl of Fife's forester, at Braemar in the Grampian Hills of Scotland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Lawmond. This was dated 1466, in the register of the Monastery of Passelet, Scotland, during the reign of King James 111 of Scotland, 1460 - 1488. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.