RAYMOND

The ancient origin of the name Raymond was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Raymond is usually of English descent and is derived from old German words meaning 'wise protector'. It is found in many ancient manuscripts in England including the 'Hundred Rolls' of the year 1273 where a Richard Reimund and a Robert Reimund, both of County Cambridgeshire, were recorded. A Philip Reymond of County Somerset was recorded in 'Kirby's Quest' during the reign of Edward III. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep a record of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired lands by either force or as gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.