Godain

This is a ancient surname which derives from an even older Germanic personal name (pre 7th Century), "Godino". It is a patronymic formed of the elements "God" meaning "good" plus "(k)in" to create "son of God". It is not known exactly how many variant spellings exist but the "English" register includes Godin, Goddin, Godden, Gooden, Gaudin and Guiden (both probably French huguenot) Goodoune, Godain, Guedon etc.. The examples of the surname recordings include the following examples, Christopher Godden, a witness at the church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey on October 20th 1594, Ann Goodin, recorded at St. Andrews, Holborn on march 18th 1607, and John Guiden, a witness at St. Mary's church Harmondsworth, Middlesex on December 26th 1677. Other recordings include Daniel Gaudin, a huguenot refugee, recorded at Des Grecs French church, London on May 20th 1711. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Philip Guodin (also recorded as Guodin), which was dated 1280, a witness at the Somerset Assize Court, Taunton, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.