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Origin of the name Scriven
The Scriven name came from two possible sources. One was Norman, the other Saxon.
The standard explanation for the origin of the name Scriven is that it was a Norman occupational surname, derived from the Old French word escrivein (a scribe or record keeper). A number of websites tell us that the first appearance of the name was with Richard le Scrivein, around 1210. After the Norman Conquest, Old English changed with the infusion of an enormous amount of Norman words into the language. Latin, which had been used on the continent for some time as the common professional language of Europe, generated numerous new words, and "many Latin words for activities came to also be used to refer to the people engaged in those activities." See Old English, Latin Influence. A scriven was a copyist, or notary, a writer of deeds and wills. He was employed by courts and monasteries, any group with property and standing in the medieval community. In other words, in an otherwise illiterate community, he was the one who wrote up important or official documents. The Scrivens took their name from their job title, just as the Taylors and Smiths did.
The Norman origin: an occupational name
There is another part to this story. According to Beryl Nuneaton, researchers found the first record of the name Scriven was in Yorkshire, “where they were seated from early times and granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege lord, for their assistance in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Scriven emerged as a notable family name in the county of Yorkshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated as lords of the Manor of Scriven and estates in the parish of Knaresborough, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.” He adds the following records of early ancestors with the surname: Richard le Scriven (mentioned earlier) 1208 - 13 Fees, (Liber Feodorum, 3 Vols. London (1920-31); O, (Oxfordshire); Gervase le Escriuein 1278 AssSo, (Assise Roles, Somerset); and Richard Scrivin, son of Norman Scrivin, 1294, AD vi (K(A descriptive catalogue of Ancient Deeds (in progress), Kent. (Beryl Nuneaton, “The Scrivens Line” at Rootsweb.ancestry.com)
By the 15th century, Nuneaton says, the name had spread to many places in England, including “Stapleford in Cambridge, to Frodesley in Shropshire, to Worcestershire, to Ramridge, to Backton in Norfolk, and to Sibton in Suffolk.” (see Beryl Nuneaton’s post, “The Scrivens Line” at Rootsweb.ancestry.com) In Scotland, according to Wikipedia, there is a hamlet called Humbie, not far from Edinburgh, where a James Scriven (d. 1688) has a monument built in his honor in the local churchyard. There is even an ancient Loch Scriven in Scotland ("Striven," or in Scottish Gaelic, "Loch Sroigheann") See Loch Striven. So the name may have spread afar very early. [1] The proliferation of the Scriven surname (and others) probably had a lot to do with the English Poll Tax, which was a per capita tax on individuals (“poll” meaning “head” as in "head count" in Old English). It was first levied in 1275 and was used by kings to help fund various wars. The development of surnames in England, at least, was made necessary to keep accurate tax records. So, it would not be surprising to see the surname emerge around that time. See Poll Tax.
No doubt, Nuneaton’s research on the surname is tied to the village of Scriven near Knarlesborough, England, the village that gave King William I’s forester and fowler his surname. King Henry’s Anglo-Saxon fowler was named Gamel Auceps, and he was put in charge of the forests in the West Riding area of Yorkshire. Thus, Gamel became Gamel de Scriven. Gamel Auceps de Scriven
Saxon origins
But there is some question whether the Norman origin is the whole story. The name Scriven itself may be derived from the local Saxon of the old Yorkshire district. According to J.J. Sheahan in History and Topography of the Wapentake of Claro, 1871 ( pp 134—136), Scriven came from “the residence of the Shrieve, or Sheriff of the district, who, in Saxon times, held his Scyregmot or Court twice a year.” Since the family of Scriven descended from Gamel Auceps who had a confirmation of his lands from Henry I (1100—1135), it’s reasonable to assume Gamel was the “Shrive” of the district, as well as “the first of his house to enjoy the feudal honor of Chief Forester of the Forest and Parks of Knaresborough.” (For a fuller discussion of Gamel and his son Orm, see http://triffitt.wordpress.com/saarah-slingsby/ Slingsby History, a very detailed and colorful account of the Slingsby de Scriven.)
A Saxon place name
At least one local researcher in Yorkshire,(See The Early Relationships of Scriven and Knaresborough in The Atkinson Papers) thought the surname came from a Saxon word for "caves," which are plentiful on a hillside nearby, or perhaps "hollows," that is, slight depressions or valleys that mark the surrounding land. Both Scriven and Knaresborough are names of Saxon origin, Scriven being from O.E. scraef, to which an “ing” was added (meaning “little”) with Scriven then meaning “the place of the little cave dwellers.” (That would mean that the original surname in Old English was something like “Scraefing,” where the “f” eventually morphed into a “v” and the ending “g” was simply dropped.) Atkinson explains that originally, Scriven was an area much larger than the town of that name is today, and that the “caves” in question are located “a mile or more along the north bank of the River Nidd at Knaresborough [where] there are more or less precipitous cliffs of soft limestone honey-combed with natural caves. Some of these, like St. Robert’s Cave, have been inhabited by hermits within historic times.” (“The Early Relationships of Scriven and Knaresborough,” The Atkinson Papers, Prime Source Harrogate Library, 19 February 1933 and 5 September 1938) In addition, The House of Names website tells us that the name “Knaresborough” comes from the Old English, meaning “a hollow place with pits.” Gerry Jackson, a resident of nearby Poppleton and helpful volunteer local genealogist, wrote to me that "Scriven is in the Domesday Book - where it is called Scrauinge/inghe: the Kings Land. This makes me suspect the name is not derived from the [Old French name for the]occupation of scrivener. I can't find an earlier reference to what was, presumably, a Saxon settlement." If true, this means that the name of Scriven, if not the family surname name itself, is a place name of Saxon invention which predates the Norman Invasion.
The Scriven Project studied the history of the Town of Scriven. It was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, supported by the Arts and Museum Department of Harrogate Borough Council and was completed in 2013. The archeological part of the study may be of interest to others with the Scriven surname. See [Archaeology Summary]
Two separate origins?
In any event, it is far from clear that the Scriven name was a Norman import. It is worth noting, too, that online searches even show some early "Scrivens" with the ending "s," (though mostly "Scriven" without the "s.") In my line, the ending "s" wasn't added until my grandfather Clarence. There were also other early variations, such as “Scriffin” and “Scrivin,” which make sense if you take into account the Old English spelling mentioned above and the general illiteracy of a population who had few occasions to write or have their names recorded. If you're exploring the surname on WikiTree, you will notice a lot of "Scrivens" profiles entered by WikiTree member Colin Scriven, many dating back into the 15 and 1600's. This fact leads me to speculate that there may even have been two independent origins of the name, one from the Norman occupational name, the other from the Saxon place name.
In the Americas, there were Scrivens recorded in the 1600's. There was “Mathew Scrivener settled in Virginia in 1607 (13 years before the Mayflower); Robert Scriven [this could have been the earliest known ancestor of James Scriven of Colyton, Devon, his great grandfather who was born around 1610] settled in Virginia in 1635; Arthur Scriven settled in Virginia in 1663; Nathaniel Scriven settled in Nevis [a Caribbean island often used as a stop over on the way to Virginia] in 1663; and John Scriven settled in Barbados in 1665.” (in Beryl Nuneaton’s “The Scrivens Line”) These, of course, predate my immigrant ancestor, James Scriven, who came to Oyster Bay around 1711. Finally, there was William Screven, who started out as a Scriven when he first came to Kittery, Maine, then migrated to the Charleston, SC area to escape religious persecution, and started the Southern Baptist Church.
For links and pictures, see [http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Origin_of_the_Scriven_Name]