Binder

Recorded as Binde, Binder abd Binding, this is an English surname. It is or rather was either a nickname or job- descriptive. It derives from the pre 7th century Olde English word "bindan", meaning to bind, and probably refers to a person who was a hunter or trapper of wild animals, although it could refer to a book-binder. It is possible that the original spelling was "bynd-lou", which literally meant, "wolf-trapper", but as "wolves" had virtually disappeared by the 13th Century, the job became an early example of redundancy! Job- descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. The name recordings and examples of the spelling include: Judith Bineding, was christened at St. Martin's in the Field, Westminster, on November 25th 1606, and she may have been Juditha Binding (now in the correct spelling), who married Thomas Rennalls at the same church, on May 26th 1638. Another variant spelling was that of Richard Byndinger, recorded at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on August 11th 1609. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.