Lenden

Recorded in the spellings of Lendon, Lenden, and Lindon, this surname is Flemish Huguenot, from Flanders. It derives from the German 'Linden' meaning the 'lime trees' . The Huguenots were prosecuted protestants who fled mainly from catholic France, and entered England from about the year 1555 and continued to do so over the following two centuries, as the persecution waxed and finally waned in about 1760. In this case early examples of the surname recording include the parents of the first name recording, see below, Samuel and Marie (nee Poignar) Lendon in 1683, and Philip Mephiboshet Lendon, the son of Edward Lendon, christened at St Leonards, Shoreditch, on June 28th 1766. Other recordings include Joseph Lenden, christened at St Savious church, Southwark, London, on October 7th 1779, and Thomas Lendon who married Elizabeth Keating at St Pancras Old Church, on October 16th 1798. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Samuel Francois Lendon, which was dated August 1st 1683. He was christened at the French Church, Threadneedle Street, London, during the reign of King Charles 11, known as 'The merry monarch', 1660 - 1685. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.