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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The surname Chedder was first found in Somerset where Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, the Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found here in 1903. During the Saxon period, a royal palace was located here. By the 10th century it was a three-time host to the Witenagemot. Cheddar was first listed as Ceodre c. 880. And by the Domesday Book it had evolved to Ceder, meaning "Shear Water", and from the Old English scear and Celtic dwr. Alternatively it could have been derived from the Old English "ceodor" which meant "ravine" as reference to the Cheddar Gorge. 1 As early as 1130 AD, the Cheddar Gorge was recognized as one of the "Four Wonders of England".
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chedder research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1377, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1600 and 1982 are included under the topic Early Chedder History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Chedder were recorded, including Chedder, Chadder, Cheder, Cheddre, Cheddar, Chader, Chetter and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Chedder family emigrate to North America: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..