Caddock

This unusual and interesting name has two possible origins. Firstly it may derive from the Old Welsh personal name "Cadoc", a diminutive form of the Celtic element found in the Welsh word "cad", battle, or it may be a pet form of the Welsh personal name "Cadfael", the proper name of the Welsh saint contemporary with St. David, referred to as "Cadog" or "Cadock". The modern surname is chiefly found as Caddock and Caddick, the latter form especially in the West Midlands. The diminutive forms of the name are Cadwgan and Cadogan; the Earls Cadogan are said to be descended from the ancient princes of Wales, including Cadwgan, who died in 1112. The second possible origin of the modern surname is from an English nickname for a frail or infirm person, or a sufferer from epilepsy, from the Middle English "caduc", from the Latin "caducus", a derivative of "cadere", to fall. The marriage of Joseph Caddick and Barbara Cole was recorded at St. Giles's, Cripplegate, London, on December 5th 1625. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Caddok (witness), which was dated 1260, in the "Cambridgeshire Assize Rolls", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.