Paradis

Recorded in many forms including Parade, Parradice, Parradyce, Paradine, Paradis, Parades, and probably others, this is an Anglo-French surname, of two origins both locational. The first is from the Ancient Greek "paradeisos" meaning garden, and was originally given to someone who came from any of the places called Paradis in Somerset; Hertfordshire, Northumberland, and Gloucestershire. The surname is also shown in the 18th century registers as a French Huguenot surname, and again of locational origin from a place in France known as Paradis. Early examples of surname recordings taken from surviving church registers of the city of London include Margaret Paradis who married Richard Heyborne at All Hallows church, Honey Lane, on May 24th 1552, William Paradine, a christening witness on February 1st 1667 at St Giles Cripplegate, whilst on June 10th 1725, Marie Parades, the daughter of Nicholas Parades and his wife the former Marie Joyeux, was christened at the French Church, Threadneedle Street. Surnames first 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.