Piddletown

There are several very unusual factors regarding this name. It appears to be of Old English origin, to be locational and, to derive from some place known as "Puddel-denu", translating as "the pool in the valley". However if such a place ever existed, we have not been able confirm this fact. Even more unusually the first recording of the name has not been found before the early 19th Century and then almost entirely in Kent. This suggests that the original name holder moved from some other area, possibly the West Country and the name was transposed from (say) Piddletown (Dorset) or Piddlehinton (Dorset) to a "Kentish" form. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Piddlesden, which was dated October 13th 1801, married May Pepper at Folkestone, Kent, during the reign of King George 111, known as "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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.