Gaydon

Recorded as Gayden, Gaydon, and Geydon, this is an English surname. It is of locational origin from a place called Gaydon in the county of Warwickshire. First recorded as Gaidone in the Pipe Rolls of that county in 1195 and as Geydon in 1285, the first element is believed to be the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name Gega from the pre 7th century Olde English word "gaegan", meaning to turn aside, with the word "dun", meaning a hill or mountain and hence "Gaega's Hill". The surname is seemingly first recorded in the latter half of the 16th Century and early examples include that on August 6th 1673 of William, the son of Abraham Geydon, who was christened at Presto Bagit, Warwickshire, and on January 4th 1692 that of Elizabeth, the daughter of James and Ann Gaydon who was christened in St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. On July 13 1783 Mary Gaydon was christened in Tredington, Warwickshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Geadon. He married Dorithy Langley, on June 26th 1593, at Southam, Warwickshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth Ist, known to history as 'Good Queen Bess', 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.