This surname of MARLOWE was a locational name 'of Marlow' in County Buckinghamshire. Habitation names were originally acquired by the original bearer of the name, who, having lived by, at or near a place, would then take that name as a form of identification for himself and his family. When people lived close to the soil as they did in the Middle Ages, they were acutely conscious of every local variation in landscape and countryside. Every field or plot of land was identified in normal conversation by a descriptive term. If a man lived on or near a hill or mountain, or by a river or stream, forests and trees, he might receive the word as a family name. Almost every town, city or village early times, has served to name many families. Early records of the name mention Edric Merlaue, listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. Wido de Merlaue, was documented in the year 1225, in County Berkshire. Edwin de Marlowe of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. William Marlow was documented in County Lancashire in 1440.
A notable member of the name was Christopher Marlowe (1564-93) the English dramatist, born in Canterbury, the son of a shoemaker. From the King's College there, he was sent to Benet (now Corpus Christi) College in Cambridge. He graduated BA in 1583 and MA in 1587. His 'Tamburlaine the Great' in two parts, was first printed in 1590. In tragedy he prepared the way for Shakespeare, on whose early work his influence is firmly stamped.
The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884.
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