Naden

This interesting surname, widely recorded in English Church Registers from the mid 16th century under the variant spellings Nadyne, Naddan, Nad(d)in, Naidan and Neadon, is a medieval English topographical name from residence in a place at a lower altitude than the main settlement. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th century compound preposition "binithan, bineothan", containing "bi", by, with "nithan, neothan", below, down. By Medieval times, the initial element "bi" was dropped, and "nithan", also written "nidan", came to mean "directly below, in a lower position", with "place" understood. Neadon in Devonshire, recorded as "Beneadona" in the Domesday Book of 1086, is so named, and some instances of the surname may be locational from this particular spot. Habitational surnames were originally given as a means of identification in the small communities of the Middle Ages, and when namebearers moved farther afield, regional and dialectal differences frequently produced several variations of the original spelling of the name. On February 2nd 1577 Thomas Naden and Elizabeth Bowrer were married in Manchester, Lancashire, and on November 11th 1593 Robert Naden married a Bennet Oates in Dronfield, Derbyshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Nadyne, witness at a christening, which was dated November 11th 1560, at Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire, during the reign of Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.