Widdowfield

This is a mysterious surname. It is almost certainly English, and locational, although we have not been able to find any place recorded in the gazetters of the past three centuries called Widdowfield or anything quite like it. As a surname it is recorded in the surviving church registers of the diocese of Greater London from the reign of King Charles 11nd of England (1660 - 1685), but clearly must have come from somewhere else. There would seem to be a close spelling association with the Germanic surname 'Widenfeld', but there is nothing in the known registers to suggest that this is an 'imported' surname, although this is possible. Locational surnames from 'lost' medieval villages are a feature of the surnames listing of the British Isles. It would seem that at least three thousand examples exist and this may well be one of them. Furthermore thre is no reason why a place should not have been called 'Widdowfield', although it would seem that most villages whose names commence with 'Wid(d)' derive from the pre 7th century word 'wide', to give wide valley (which is the most common), or 'wipig' meaning willow, as in valley of willow. The early examples of the surname recording include John Widenfield, a witness at St Giles Cripplegate in the city of London on October 20th 1683, and Isabella Widdowfield, who was christened at St Georges Chapel, Westminster, on May 8th 1809.