Chiddy

Recorded as Chedey, Chedey, Chedgey, Chedie, Chiddy, Chidey, Chittee, Chitty and possibly others, this is an English surname. There are several possible origins, but the two most popular are that it is either from the pre Medieval English word "chitte" meaning the young of an animal, a cub or kitten, and hence was given as a nickname of endearment, or it may be locational from Chedzoy, a village in the county of Somerset. This village was first recorded as Chedesie or Cedd's island in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, and subsequently both its spelling and pronunciation over the centuries has undergone many forms. In addition in early and middle English, as in many languages including Anglo-Saxon (German) the letters d and t were interchangeable and this combined with spelling which over the centuries can only be described as erratic, lead to the creation of many varied surname spellings. In this case early examples of recordings include the christening of Alice Chitty at Wonersh, Surrey, on June 14th 1548, Margaret Chedee at Weston near Bath, on May 9th 1607, and Elizabeth Ciddey at Bath Abbey, Bath, Wiltshire, on June 4th 1741. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of John Chytte. This was dated 1327, in the records of the parish of Godalming, Surrey. during the reign of King Edward 111rd, known as "The Father of the Navy" 1327 - 1377. 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.