Sandon

Recorded as Sanden, Sandon, the dialectal Sandom, this is an English surname. It is locational from any of the places called Sandon, in the counties of Berkshire, Essex, Stafford and Hertfordshire, the latter appearing as Sandona in the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the year 939 a.d. whilst Sandown in Surrey has the same meaning and origin of sand-hill from the pre 6th century "sand-dun". Locational surnames were originally given to the local lord of the manor and his descendants, and especially to former inhabitants who left their original homes to live and work in another area and were most easily identfied by being called after their former homes. Spelling being at best erratic an dlocal dialects very thick, often lead to the creation of variant spellings. A coat of arms was confirmed in 1619 to Isabel Sandon, who married William Belgrave Esquire of Belgrave in Leicestershire. This has the blazon of a red field charged with a chevron wavy between three silver stags' heads. Interestingly this blazon is believed to have been first granted to a William Sandon in the time of King Edward 111rd (1327 - 1377). Presumably it was reissued by the heralds to show the lady's heritage and descent over several centuries. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.