This interesting surname, with variant spellings Roseman, Roseaman, Rosoman and Rosamond, derives from the medieval female given name "Rosemunde", a Germanic compound of the elements "hros", meaning "horse", and "mund", protection, but was associated early in time with the Latin phrase "rosa munda", meaning "pure rose", an epithet of the Virgin Mary. The personal name is recorded as "Rosamunda" in 1206 in the Curia Regis Rolls of Suffolk, and as Rosamond Udelin, was recorded in the 1282 Fines Rolls of Oxfordshire. The surname dates back to the mid 14th Century (see below), and further early recordings include: Nicholas Rosamon (1359), in the Enforcement of the Statues of Labourers, Cornwall; Edith Rosamond (1469), in the Calendar of Wills in the court of Husting; and Lancelott Rosoman, who married Mabella Horlon on August 16th 1638, at St. Gabriel's, London. One James Rosman, aged 21 yrs., an emigrant to the New World sailed for St. Christopher's, the Barbadoes, in February 1634. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Rosemound, which was dated 1356, in the "Calendar of Letter Books of the City of London", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.