Younger - Meno

This interesting name of Anglo-Saxon origin has two possible meanings, the first being that it is a nickname surname derived from the Old English pre 7th Century 'geong', with the Middle English development 'yunge', meaning young, and used to denote the younger of two bearers of the same given name, usually to distinguish the son from the father. However, this name may also be the Anglicization of the Middle Dutch 'jonghheer', a compound of 'jong(h)', young, with 'herr', master or lord, thus 'young nobleman', a term used to describe a member of the European nobility who had not yet assumed Knighthood, for example William Yunghare (1297, Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire). Among the early recordings in London are the christenings of Frauncis Younger on February 19th 1588 at St. Bride's, Fleet Street, and of William Younger on November 2nd 1595 at St. Mary's, Stoke Newington. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Edmund Yonger, which was dated 1379, Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Richard 11, 'Richard of Bordeaux', 1377-1399. 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.