Pedley

This interesting name, with variant spellings Pedlow, Pellew and Pillow, derives from the Norman French "pie de leu", (French "piedeloup"), meaning "wolf-foot", and was originally given as a nickname to a stealthy person. The surname was first recorded in the latter half of the 14th Century, (see below). One, William Piedleu appears in "the Calender of Letter Books", (London, circa 1368). A Coat of Arms granted to the Pie de Lou family of Brittany has a gold shield with three black wolf's feet, two in chief and one in base. These Arms are recorded in "Rietstapp's Armorial General". On June 12th 1548 Henry Pedley and Ellen Bonour were married in St. Margaret's, Westminster, and on October 3rd 1553 Alexander Pedley, an infant, was christened in the above church. The name Pedley appears with Padley in Derbyshire church registers from the early 7th Century suggesting that in some instances the name may be locational from Padley in that county. The derivation, in this case, is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "pade", a frog or toad, plus "leah", a clearing in a wood; hence, "clearing frequented by frogs". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Piedeleu, which was dated 1367, in the "Calendar of Letter Books for London", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 -1377. 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.