Blyden

Recorded in many forms including Bladon, Bladen, Blaydon, Blayden, Bleaden, Bleddon, and possibly others, this is an English locational surname. It originates either from Bladon, a hamlet near Woodstock in Oxfordshire, or possibly in a few cases, from either Bleadon in Somerset, or even Blaydon in Northumberland. The Oxford village was recorded in the Saxon Chartulary of 872 a.d. as Bibladene", meaning the village on the Bladon. This was the ancient name of the river on which Bladon now stands; It is of obscure etymology, but thought to be of ancient British origin. The modern river name is the Evenlode. The Northumberland place is later recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Bladen, whilst the Somerset village appears Bleodun in Domesday Book in 1086. Thje meaning of both the latter villages is Black or dark hill. During the Middle Ages when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village name as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. The surname first appears in records in the late 13th Century (see below) in Oxfordshire, and Agnes and Hugh de Bladene were mentioned in the Oxfordshire Hundred Rolls of 1273. Later recordings include John Bladon, who was christened at St. Martin Ludgate, in the city of London On July 12th 1577, whilst William and Mary Blyden were recorded at the church of St Mary, the Virgin, also in the city of London, on December 14th 1771. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter de Bladone. This was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.