This interesting locational name is of Viking (Norse) origin and has several alternative spellings. It derives from 'Farlesthorp' a village in Lincolnshire, and translates as 'the farm (or place) of Faraldr'. The latter being a personal name of the pre 7th century. The village was first recorded as Farlestorp in the Pipe Rolls of 1190 in the reign of Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199), the surname(s) being later and very scattered, suggesting a wholesale clearance of the village in the late medieval period, and hence the recorded variant spellings including: Fulthropp (1635), Fulthorpe (1639) and Falthropp (1567). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Marye Fawthropp. which was dated 1577 Baptised at Halifax Parish Church. during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I 'Good Queen Bess' 1558-1603. 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.

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