Flowerden

This most interesting and unusual name is of English locational origin from "Flordon", a place in Norfolk, recorded as "Florenduna", in the Domesday Book of 1086 and "Florendone" in the 1254 Valuation of Norwich. The placename itself is composed of the old English pre 7th Century word "flore", a derivative of "flor", the old English word for a "threshing-floor", plus "denn", meaning "pasture", a common second element of placenames in the Kent and South Weald district. During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village name as a means of identification, hence leading to a wide dispersal and consequent variations of the name. One Elie Flowerden married Thomas Streete on June 9th 1635 at St. George by St. Paul, London. William, Flowerdew married Mary Fairman on April 4th 1726 at St. Mary at Marsh, St. Luke Chapelry in Norwich, Norfolk. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Flowerden, (marriage to Rachell Cartred), which was dated July 10th 1569, at St. Mary at Hill, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "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.