Labden

Recorded as Labden and Labdon, this is apparently an English surname. Well recorded in the diocese of Greater London from at least Elizabethan times, it is seeminly locational or topogrphical. It would appear to originate from a place called Lamb Hill, from the Olde English words 'lam-denu', however this is conjecture. There are several places called Lamb Hill in both Englad and the south of Scotland, but we have no positive proof that this name does actually originates from any of them, but it seems a strong possibility. If this is not the case then it may be that we have a development from a now 'lost' medieval village. As some three thousand surnames of the British Isles are proven to originate from such sites, this would seem a strong possibility. Locational surnames are by their very nature 'from' names. That is to say names given to people as easy identification after they left their original homes to move somewhere else. However spelling being at best indifferent and local dialects very thick, soon lead to the development of 'sounds like' spellings. In this case an early example of the recordings is that of John Labden who married Anne Care at the church of St Lawrence Jewry in the city of London, on May 8th 1571, whilst Sarah, the daughter of David Labdon was christened at Christ Church, Stepney, on December 4th 1737.