Northage

Recorded in several forms including Northage, Northedge, Northidge and the dialectal Northbridge, this is an English surname. It is both locational and topographical and derives either from the village of Northedge near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, or from residence at the northern edge of a village. The surname dates from the Late Medieval period, and is particularly popular in the north midlands of the country. It is one of a type which forms quite a large group of English surnames including Townsend, for one who lived at the end of the town or Bitheway describing a person who in Olde English lived by the "weg" or road. In this case early examples of the surname recordings include Joane Northadge of the city of London in 1578, Samuell Northidge, a witness at Bolsover in Derbyshire on November 3rd 1674, whilst Katherine Northedge, the daughter of James Northedge, was christened at the church of St. Mary Aldermary in the city of London on December 31st 1718. The spelling as Northbridge is almost certainly a clerical error which produced a "sounds like" form. The earliest example that we have found is that of George Northbridge who married Sarah Hancock at Pleasley in Derbyshire on July 9th 1792. There is a place called North Bridge in Surrey, but there is no record of this hamlet providing any nameholders. The first recorded spelling of the family name is possibly that of Jane Northage. This was dated 1575, when she was christened at St. Michaels Church, Wood Street, in the city of London. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.