Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is an English surname. It is however of early Anglo-Saxon origins being a patronymic derived from the personal name Emma, itself a short form of the pre 7th century female given names Ermentrude and Ermyntrude, meaning "entire strength." The name was also popular with the Norman invaders of England in 1066, and it would seem that it was from them that it became one of the foremost of all female names, which it has retianed for the past thousand years. The surname variations include spellings such as Imason, Imesen, Imeson, Immeson, Impson, Immison and others. Early recordings taken from surviving church registers include George, the son of Thomas and Hannah Imeson, who was christened at St. Sepulchre church, city of London on March 14th 1730, and Ann Imison who married William Lees at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster on January 9th 1798. It is unclear when the surname was first recorded in England, but Isabell Imms married William Kelsea at St Dionis Backchurch in the city of London in 1574, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st of England (1558 - 1604). 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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