Cudby

A slightly transposed variant spelling of the medieval 'cuddy' a nickname which originally derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'Cuthbert'. The transposition of letters of 'D' to 'B' as in this case can be caused by dialect but is more usually the result of a spelling mistake, which is then carried forward by future generations unaware of the change. The name 'Cuddy' was originally recorded only in Cumberland and Westmoreland, alternative spellings being Cudd, Cudde, Cuddy etc. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Cuddy which was dated C. 1587 The Records of Westmoreland during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 Good Queen Bess 1558-1603 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.