Woodyear

This surname is an occupational name for a person who cut wood. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century 'wuduheawere' meaning 'wood-cutter' or 'hewer of wood'. The name dates back to the early 14th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Robert le Wodehyewere (1301) 'Parliamentary Rolls of Sussex Rolls' and Walter le Wodenewer (1309) 'Subsidy Rolls of Bedfordshire'. Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Woodyear, Woodyer, Woodger, Woodyeare, etc.. John, son of Henry and Jane Woodier, was christened in Pangbourne, Berkshire on June 30th 1643. Margo Woodier married John Sikes at St. Gregory by St. Paul, London in 1664, whilst on June 18th 1682 Maratha Wooder married Robert Cole at St. James Church, Dukes Place, London in the reign of Charles 11 (1660-1685). The Coat of Arms granted in 1663 is a black field charged with a semee de lis in gold, and three leopards faces, all silver. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Matthew le Woder, which was dated 1327, in the Close Rolls of London, during the reign of King Edward 111, known as 'The Father of the Navy', 1327 - 1377. 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.