Molden

Recorded as Molden, Moulden, Moulton, Molton, Multon and possibly others, this is one of the very earliest of English surnames. It is locational from any of the various places called Moulton, in the counties of Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and Yorkshire. These places are variously recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 as Moletune, Multune, Muletuna and Moltun, and all share the same meaning and derivation. This is thought to be either 'Mula's settlement' from the Old English personal name Mula, meaning 'to muzzle', with 'tun', a settlement or village, or 'mules village', from the Old English word 'mul', meaning a mule, and 'tun' as before. The surname development in the surviving records of the city of London has included examples such as : Thomas Multon in 1552, Margaret Molton in 1562 and John Moulden in 1624. The marriage of Mary Molden and John Pallmer was recorded at St. Margaret Pattens, London, on September 8th 1646. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Aelfgar de Muletune. This was dated 975 a.d, in the register of the abbey of Ely, Suffolk, during the reign of Edward the Martyr, King of England, 975-978. 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.