Priddle

This unusual and interesting name is a diminutive of the locational name 'Pridd' or 'Priddy', found particularly in the counties of Devonshire and Somerset, and in the Welsh border counties. The surname 'Priddle' can derive from any of the places so named, such as 'Priddy' in Somerset which is first recorded in 1180 as 'Pridi', and derives from the Welsh word 'pidd', meaning 'earth' or 'soil'. There is a likelihood that some of the modern - day bearers of the name 'Priddle' derive from a nickname, the Welsh 'Prid' meaning 'precious' or 'dear', and again, 'Priddle' was married to 'Isaac Harrys' on the 2nd February 1619, at Halberton, Devonshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Edith Prydell, married William Browke. which was dated 7th August 1598, Tintinhull, Somerset. during the reign of Elizabeth I, 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.