Maidment

This curious surname is of early medieval English origin, and is a variant of the more familiar Maidman, itself an occupational name for a servant employed by a (young) woman, or at a convent. The derivation is from the Middle English (1200 - 1500) "maid(en)", with "man", and the surname first appears on record in the latter part of the 13th Century (see below). Further early examples include: Robert Maideneman (Sussex, 327), and William Maideman (Surrey, 1332). Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. It is also possible that Maidman (and its variants Maidment and Maitment) originated as a nickname for a particularly chivalrous gentleman, one especially attentive to the desires of young women. Recordings of the surname from English Church Registers include the christening of Elizabeth, daughter of James and Elizabeth Maidment, at St. Mary Mounthaw, London, on April 19th 1749. James Maidment (1795 - 1879), a noted Scottish antiquary, and author of the valuable work "Dramatists of the Restoration" (1877), is mentioned in the "Dictionary of National Biography". A Coat of Arms granted to the family is an azure shield with three green laurel slips on a gold chevron between three doves proper, the Crest being a dexter arm embowed per pale indented azure and gold, cuffed silver, the hand proper grasping a dove as in the arms. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Maydenemon, which was dated 1275, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.