Brigden

Recorded in a number of spellings as shown below, this is an extraordinary English surname. It is famous for the number of variations of the spelling, which seems so unusual given that it starts from two very simple place names. The most likely source is either the hamlet of Brockton in the county of Staffordshire, or according to the famous Victorian etymologist Canon Charles Bardsley, Brogden hamlet near Skipton, in North Yorkshire. The probable answer is that both places have provided the origins, and that over the centuries given that spelling has at best been erratic, and local accents very thick, has lead to a "fusing" of spellings. This is certainly the case in the diocese of Greater London where from the 17th century, many nameholders seem to have gravitated. This has lead to a siituation where for many nameholders proof of origin remains at best uncertain. These "variations" include the basic Brockton, Broxton, Brigden and Brogden, as well as the rare or in some cases extinct Brookton, Brockten, Bruckstone, Brugden and others. The name means "Badgers Farm", or possibly "Brook Farm", or in the case of Brogden, "Badgers Valley". Early examples of the surname recording include Christiana de Broghden in the Yorkshire Poll Tax rolls of 1379, William Brockden, a freeman of the city of York in 1544, Katherine Broxton of Eccleshall, Staffordshire, on May 4th 1655, and Henry Brockton, who married Joan Stephenson, at St Giles Cripplegate on October 14th 1683.