Chittenden

This unusual and interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place called Chittenden in Kent. The placename means "Citta's pasture", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Citta", a byname derived from "cith", shoot, sprout, with "denn", a pasture, especially a swine-pasture. "Denn" is often found as the second element of placenames in the Kent and Sussex Weald district, usually denoting an old pasture. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The marriage of Thomas Chittenden and Agnes Fyssenden was recorded at Cranbrook, in Kent, on January 21st 1565, and one James Chittenden was christened in Wandsworth, South London, on March 5th 1659. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Marrian Chittenden, which was dated December 22nd 1543, christened at Milton next Sittingbourne, Kent, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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.