This is a habitational name of Olde English or possibly 8th century Anglo-Saxon origins. It derives from either Standing in the county of Gloucester, or Standingstone in Cumberland, or more likely from one of the several places in England called 'Standen', but particularly the one in Lancashire. The translation is either 'the stony valley' from 'stan-denu' or the stony hill, from 'stan-dun'. The location of the site deciding which is the correct meaning. The surname is apparently most popular in Lancashire where it is recorded as Standen, Standring and Standing. Early examples of the surname recordings taken from the church registers include Thomas Standing of Rochdale on September 11th 1669, and Richard, the son of John Standing, born at Great Harwood, Lancashire, on June 7th 1682. Other recordings are those of James Standing of Lancaster, a witness there on November 4th 1770, whilst Maria Standing married David Nixon at Christ Church, London, on November 7th 1824. The coat of arms has the simple but distinguished blazon of a black field, a bend vair, and a crest of the stump of an oak tree shoorting forth new branches. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Standing, which was dated 1553, the Chartulary of the abbey of Whalley, Lancashire, during the reign of King Edward V1th, known as 'The boy king', 1547 - 1554. 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.