Monday

This interesting and unusual surname recorded in the spellings of Monday, Mundy, and Mundie, has at least four possible sources! The first is Norse and an introduction into "Viking" regions of mainly England in the 9th century a.d. It translates loosely as "protector", and often formed part of a compund name. Secondly, the surname may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and a nickname for someone who had some particular association with Monday. This was normally because he owed feudal service on that day of the week, but it maybe because the recipient was born on a Monday, and this was considered to be a lucky omen. Thirdly, the surname may be of Irish origin, and an anglicization of the Gaelic "MacGiollaEoin", translating as the "son of the servant of Eoin". This came about by the confusion of the last part of the name with the Irish "Luain", which means Monday. Finally the name can be Scottish and locational. In this case the derivation is from the "Lands of Munday", near Aberdagie, in Aberdeenshire. Amongst the every earliest of all the recordings of the surname are Simon Moneday in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdon for the year 1273, Thomas Mundi, in the rolls of the Ramsey Abbey in 1291, whilst John Mundy is listed in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk. One of the earliest settlers in the New World was Elizabeth Mundy, who is recorded as owning seventy-five acres of land in the Barbadoes on December 20th 1679. A Coat of Arms associated with the surname has the blazon of a shield divided per pale red and black, on a silver cross engrailed, five purple lozenges, on a gold chief three blue eagles. The Motto "Deus providebit" translates as "God will provide". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Mundi, which was dated 1239, in the "Chartulary of Ramsey Abbey", Norfolk, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.