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Waldon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Waldon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Waldon is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived in or near any of the places named Walden in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Northern Yorkshire. Waldon 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 Waldon 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 Waldon family

The surname Waldon 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 Waldon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waldon 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 Waldon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waldon Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Waldon has been recorded under many different variations, including Walden, Waldern, Waldon, Waldew and others.

Early Notables of the Waldon 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 Waldon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waldon Ranking

In the United States, the name Waldon is the 5,761^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 6

Waldon migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Waldon or a variant listed above:

Waldon Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Phillip Waldon, who arrived in Virginia in 1655 7

Waldon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Christian Waldon, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 7

Waldon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Waldon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Waldon, English convict who was convicted in Dorset, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bardaster" on 7th September 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Waldon 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:

Waldon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Waldon, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "William and Jane" arriving in Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd February 1857 9
Mrs. Waldon, British settler with family travelling from London aboard the ship "William and Jane" arriving in Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd February 1857 9
Mr. William Waldon, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "William and Jane" arriving in Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd February 1857 9
Mr. Henry Waldon, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "William and Jane" arriving in Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd February 1857 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Waldon (post 1700) +

Regina Waldon (1908-2001), American actress, known for her work on The Fog (1980), Leonard Part 6 (1987) and Electric Dreams (1984)
Louis Waldon (1934-2013), American film actor, known for his work on Lenz (1971), Mask (1985) and Flesh (1968)
Alton R. Waldon Jr. (b. 1936), American former politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1986-1987)
Alton Ronald Waldon Jr. (b. 1936), American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly 33rd District, 1983-86; U.S. Representative from New York 6th District, 1986-87 10
Alexander S. Waldon, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Groton, 1946 10
Connor Mark Waldon (b. 1995), English footballer who plays for Swindon Town
Keith Waldon, English physiotherapist and sports coach, former assistant manager of Portsmouth F.C
Max Waldon Lauer, American politician, Socialist Labor Candidate for Presidential Elector for Indiana, 1972 11
Waldon Thomas "Wally" Westlake (1920-2019), American Major League Baseball utility player who had a ten-year career from 1947 to 1956

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
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bardaster
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html