Ledram

This very interesting surname is of French and in England, of protestant 17th century Huguenot origins. Recorded in a number of spellings which include Ledram, Ledrane, Le Dran, Ledrun, and Ludron, all of which are rare, it is believed to derive from the French-Breton surname 'Le Drean'. Brittany being a centre of the French protestant faith, was one of the areas which was given special attention for the lunatic efforts of King Louis X1V (1643 - 1715) to stamp out any opposition to the Roman Catholic faith. Many protestants left Brittany and settled in England, this would seem to be one of them. In the spelling of Le Drean the meaning is 'The spike'. This would seem to have two possible meanings. Either as medieval nickname for a prickly person, somebody who did not conform, or it was topographical for a person who lived by thorn trees, it is not possible to say. The name is first recorded in England in 1629 when Judith Ledron married Peter Veneu at the church of St Michael Bassishaw in the city of London. Thereafter and for the next century, all known recordings of the surname in its various spellings in the London church registers are associated with the French Huguenot church known as 'Glasshouse Street'. A good example is that of Marie Ann Le Dran, the daughter of Simon Le Dran, christened there on November 19th 1693, in the famous joint reign of William and Mary (1689 - 1694).