Finding

Recorded in several spellings including Finden, Findon, Findin, and Finding, this is an Anglo-Scottish surname. It is locational either from the village of Findon in the county of Sussex, or from an estate, or in former times a barony, known as "The lands of Findon" in the parish of Banchory-Devenick, Deeside, in Scotland. The place in Sussex is first recorded as Fintona in 1073, and as Findune in the famous Domesday Book of 1086. In Scotland the original owner Sir Phillip de Findon appears to have forfeited his lands in circa 1306 on the orders of Robert, the Bruce. The translation of the place name is "The hill with a heap of wood", but more logically probably described an area where trees were felled and left to dry or season. Early church recordings include Janne Findon in the city of London in 1563, John Finden who married Johane Baker at Rogate in Sussex on October 29th 1587, whilst Alice Finding was christened at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on August 16th 1640. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Philip de Fyndon. This was dated 1281, in the Register of the Abbey of Aberbrothoc, during the reign of King Alexander 111, 'King of Scotland', 1249-1286. 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.