Priden

This interesting and unusual surname is of Old English origins. It is locational from a place called "Priding", in the Wheatenhurst rural district of the county of Gloucestershire. This placename is composed of the pre 7th century word "pridd", meaning earth or soil, also found in the village name of Priddy, in Somerset, and the suffix "-ing", usually meaning "the people of", and which is often found attached to topographical features. During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-seeking was becoming more common, people often used their former village name as a means of identification, resulting in a wide dispersal of the surname. Early examples of the surname in surviving church registers of the diocese of Greater London include: the marriage of Jane Prydden to William Coole on October 19th 1578, at St. Margaret's, Westminster; the christening of Edward, the son of William and Elizabeth Priden, at St. Andrew's, Holborn, in January 1648; and the christening of Margaret, daughter of Richard and Margery Pridding, at St. Giles' Cripplegate, on April 1st 1699. One of the first recordings may be that of Margeret Predene. This was dated June 22nd 1567, when she married Ralffe Corffe, at Allhallows church, London Wall, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.