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Walding History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Walding History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Walding surname lived in or near any of the places named Walden in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Northern Yorkshire. Walding is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Walding comes from the Old English words wealh and denu, which mean foreigner and valley. Thus, the surname would have been given to a person who was a stranger from a valley. Another source claims a slightly different origin of the place name: "The name Walden is said to be derived from the Saxon words Weald and Den, signifying a woody valley. At a latter period the place was called Waldenburgh. " 1

Early Origins of the Walding family

The surname Walding was first found in Essex at Saffron Walden. "The name Walden is said to be derived from the Saxon words Weald and Den, signifying a woody valley. At a latter period the place was called Waldenburgh; and in the reign of Stephen." 1

Some of the family were granted the lands of Walden Abbey and adopting their surname from those lands.

Another source notes that Walden means "valley of the Britons," from the Old English "walh" + "denu." 2

King's Walden in Hertfordshire dates back to Saxon times when it was originally known as Waleden in 888, but by the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, it was known as Waldene and was held by the king at that time. 2

And this is where we found the first record of the family, specifically Godeman de Waldena who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1176. Years later, Simone de Waldene was listed in 1304 in Yorkshire. Another early record of the name is Thomas Walden, recorded in the Pipe Rolls for Essex, 1377. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists Alice de Waledene in Cambridgeshire; and Richard de Waledene in Cambridgeshire. Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls lists Thomas Waldyng (1379); and Johannes Waldyng (1370) 4

Humphrey de Waleden (d. 1330?) was an English judge, a 'king's clerk,' who was "appointed to the custody of the lands of Simon de Montacute, first Baron Montacute, in the counties of Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Oxford, and Buckingham, and on 16 Jan. 1291 to the custody of the lands of the late Queen Eleanor. " 5

Today, Saffron Walden is a market town in Uttlesford district of Essex, home of Walden Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex between 1136 and 1143. Walden and Walden Head are hamlets in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire and Walden Stubbs is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire. 1

Early History of the Walding family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Walding research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1372, 1387, 1388, 1390, 1397, 1401, 1405, 1406 and 1573 are included under the topic Early Walding History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walding Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Walding are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Walding include: Walden, Waldern, Waldon, Waldew and others.

Early Notables of the Walding family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir Alexander Walden (died 1401), knighted by 1372, Member of Parliament for Essex (1388-1390.)Roger Walden (died 1406), was an English diving, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397, an English treasurer, church figure, served Richard II as secretary, elected...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Walding Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Walding migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Walding or a variant listed above:

Walding Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edw Walding, who arrived in Virginia in 1663 6
James Walding, who landed in Virginia in 1665 6
Jane Walding, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 6
Ralph Walding, who landed in Virginia in 1665 6

Walding migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Walding Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Walding, aged 40, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1873
Mana Walding, aged 38, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1873
John Walding, aged 18, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1873
George Walding, aged 17, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1873
Eliza Walding, aged 16, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1873

Contemporary Notables of the name Walding (post 1700) +

Joseph Albert "Joe" Walding (b. 1926), New Zealand politician of the Labour Party and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 1985

Historic Events for the Walding family +

HMS Halsted

Mr. Albert Victor Charles Walding (b. 1924), British Royal Navy able seaman from Northamptonshire, England was stationed aboard the "HMS Halsted" when it was struck by torpedo by Jaguar and Mowe of the Cherbourg coast on 11th June 1944, he did not survive

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)