Pardoe

Recorded in a number of spellings including: Fardieu, Fardoe, Fardo, Pardoe, Pardue, Pirdy, Purdy, Purdey, and Perdue, this surname is English but arguably of medieval French, and later 17th century French Huguenot origins. In the first instance the development in England is from a favourite oath, the French phrase "Par dieu", meaning "by God", and anglicized in the surname to various "sounds like" spellings. In medieval times the phrase became a nickname for a person who habitually used this expression in normal speech, and ultimately came to be called from it! There are a number of surnames which have had a similar development including Purefoy, from "Par ma foi", meaning "(God) keep me safe". The oath "Pardee" is recorded in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as "I have a wyt, pardee, as wel as thow". The surname development over the centuries has included: Robert Pardey, of the county of Sussex in the year 1296, Henry Pardeu of Warwickshire in 1332, and Walter Perdu of Staffordshire in 1370. Later recordings include: John Fardo who married Susanna Crump at the church of St Leonards, Shoreditch, in 1692, Jean Fardieu, given as being a protestant refugee and recorded at the Huguenot French Church, Threadneedle Street, in the city of London, in 1719, and James Pardoe who married Sarah Birt at St. Georges chapel, Hanover Square, London, in 1808. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Richard Parde. This was dated 1228, in the tax rolls known as the "Feet of Fines" for Suffolk. during the reign of King Henry III, 1216 - 1272. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.