Fend

Recorded in various spellings including Fend, Fendt, Vend, Vende, Vendo, Fender and possibly others, this is a German name, but one possibly of Roman (Latin) pre 5th century origins. If so it derives from the Roman clan name Fendius meaning young, pleasant and sprightly. The Romans conquered much of what is now Germany and then Gaul , and as in Spain, another conquered territory, a group of surnames can be traced back to this period of history in the first millenium upto about the year 420 a.d.. However there are other origin possibilities. Like the English Fenn or Venn it could mean a person who lived at a marshy place, or possibly be occupational. This is from the word "faen," to mean a farmer or farm contractor, one who supplied hay. Fender for instance could, as in English be from the French word "defendre" meaning a guard or watchman, or be a form of Venner, which does mean a marsh dweller. The first recordings taken from surviving Austrian, German and Swisse charters are 13th century at the very dawn of surnames. They include Gotfrid Vendo from Stodtlen in 1229, and Ulrich Fende of Augsburg in the year 1250.