This name is of early medieval English origin, from the Middle English given name "Rawlin", which was adopted from the old French "Raulin", itself a double diminutive with the suffixes "el" and "in") of "Raw", a variant of "Ralph". The latter being first introduced into England by Scandinavian settlers as "Rathulfr", in old Norse, and became "Raedwulf" in Anglo-Saxon. The name means "counsel-wolf", from the originally Germanic elements "rad", counsel, advice, with "wolf", a wolf. Before the Norman Conquest, it had become "Radulf" and the Normans spread the name further in such forms as "Rauf" and "Raffe". The modern surname can be found in a variety of forms, ranging from "Rawling, Rawlin and Raulin" to "Rallin and Ralling". Ann Rawling married James Ellis on August 28th 1666 in London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Raulyn, which was dated 1290, Eynsham Parish Records, Oxfordshire, during the reign of King Edward I, "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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