Swaddle

This intriguing and interesting name is of Medieval English origin and is a dialectal variant of the locational name Swaledale from the place in North Yorkshire. Swaledale was recorded circa 1130 in the 'Index to the Charters and Rolls in the British Museum' as 'Sualadala', and in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1159 as 'Swaledal'. The derivation of this placename is from the Middle High German 'Swalm', a whirlpool, and the Old English pre 7th Century 'Swillian', to wash, plus 'dale', a valley thus the swirling, rushing river in the valley. One John Swaddle was christened on the 13th November 1587 at Bishopswearmouth, Durham. During the Middle Ages when people left their houses to seek work elsewhere, they would often adopt the placename as a means of identification. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Annes Swaldayll, marriage to Thomas Blenkesop, which was dated July 6th 1561, St. Oswald, Durham, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, '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.