Bendan

Recorded as Bendan, Bendon, Benden, Bendin, Bending, this is an English surname. It originates from the village known as Benenden, in the county of Kent. It has humble beginings, the derivation being from an Old English personal name 'Bionna' and 'denn', a pasture, thus Bionna's pasture. It is first recorded in the register of Hyde Abbey over a thousand years ago in the year 993 a.d as Bingidene, whilst in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 it appears as 'Benindene'. This is not very far from the modern spelling but it reverts to 'Bynindeun' in the tax rolls known as the Fees of Kent in 1242. During the Middle Ages, as it became increasingly necessary for people to leave their native home to seek work elsewhere, they would often adopt or be given as their surname, the name of their former home. Spelling being at best erratic often result in a wide dispersal of the name and in many forms, some far removed from the original. The first known recorded spelling of the family name in church registers is believed to be that of Joan Benden. She was christened at Harrietsham, Kent, on October 5th 1546, in the reign of King Henry V11th (1510 - 1547) known to history as "Bluff King Hal." Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.