Trolley - Name

This is a genuine huguenot refugee surname which has been "Anglicized ", either deliberately or otherwise, and has lost its origin identity. It derives from "Trollet", one of the earliest protestant French names into England, as shown below. The initial origin of the name is from the Norse "Troll" meaning an "Imp" plus the medieval French "et", a shortened form of "petit", to give the patronymic "son of Troll" or perhaps "little Troll". Like England, many French names have a "Norse-Viking" origin, this is a good example. The early name recordings include Charles Ameteur Trollet, the son of Ameteur and Sara Trollet, who was christened at Threadneedle street, French Huguenot Church on June 4th 1714, whilst amongst the more unusual recordings are Michael Trly (!) who emigrated to America from Liverpool on May 14th 1847 on board the ship "Montezuma". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joseph Pierre Francois Trollet, which was dated March 9th 1625, a witness at the church of St. Benet Fink, London, during the reign of King Charles 1, "The Martyr", 1625 - 1649. 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.