Trodden

This interesting surname of Olde English origins, derives from "tredan", a word which meant to walk over or trample across something. It is probable that the name was a metonymic for either a cider or wine maker, or it may be habitational for one who lived by a special path or village street, as in the surname Treadway. The name is also recorded in Germany as Tredde and in Scandinavia as Trothe, whilst in Britain the forms include Truden, Traddin, Trowden, Tredon and Tryden. The variety of spellings suggests that there may even have been a place called Trodden or a similar spelling, but if so we have not been able to identify the site, nor does such a spelling appear in the Historical Monuments list of "lost" villages. The name recording examples include: Anne Troddon, of Ewel, Kent, who married William Snelling on January 26th 1718; Claudius Tradin, who was christened at St. Andrew's, Holborn, London, on January 10th 1762; and Mary Truden, of Bicester, Oxfordshire, christened in 1796. Among the more curious dialectal variants is that of Elizabeth Trudent, of Holy Trinity Church, Chester, on January 30th 1832. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Trowdon, which was dated September 25th 1649, marriage to Elizabeth Wheewal, at the St. Bartholomew the Less, London, during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, known as "The Great Protector", 1649 - 1658. 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.