Hughesdon

This is a dialectually transposed locational name from a place in Buckinghamshire, now called Hughenden, spelt Huchedene in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Huggenden in the 1186 Pipe Rolls of that county. The name means 'Hucca's or Huhha's valley', from the Olde English pre 7th century 'den(u)', a valley. The surname is well recorded in London Church Registers from the mid 18th century on under variant spellings: Hughesdon (1744), Hughesden (1749), Hughestone (1764), Hugheston (1780) and Hughesdaw (1828). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elias Hughesdon. which was dated 29 July 1744, Christened in St. Paul's, Deptford. during the reign of King George II 'The Last Warrior King' 1727-60 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.