Waterstone - Name

This very interesting name is of English locational origin from a place in Dorset, now called Waterston, but originally called Piddle! and recorded as Pidere in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name derives from the Medieval Dutch "pedel" meaning "low land" or "marsh". In the 1212 "Fine Court Rolls of Dorset", the place is named Pidela Walteri, Walter being the name of an early owner. By 1226, the place was known as Walterton, the last element coming from the Olde English pre 7th century "tun" a farm or settlement. "Water" was the normal Medieval pronunciation of the personal name "Walter" which accounts for the change in spelling. The name derives from the Olde German "Waldhar" meaning "rule people". The surname Watersone is recorded in Kent Church Registers from the mid 18th Century onwards. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Eleanor Waterstone. which was dated 5th October 1765, christened in Maidstone, Kent. during the reign of King George III, Farmer George, 1760 - 1820. 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.