Show ContentsWaddent History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Waddent reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Waddent family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Waddent family lived in Yorkshire, at Wadding.

Early Origins of the Waddent family

The surname Waddent was first found in Yorkshire where they are "perhaps the patronymical form of the Anglo-Saxon Wade." 1

Early History of the Waddent family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waddent research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1086, 1581, 1588, 1591, 1644 and 1657 are included under the topic Early Waddent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waddent Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Wadding, Wadden, Waddyng, Wading and others.

Early Notables of the Waddent family

More information is included under the topic Early Waddent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Waddent family to Ireland

Some of the Waddent family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Waddent family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Waddent name or one of its variants: Margaret Wadden from County Wexford who settled in St. John's Newfoundland in 1878; John Wadden settled in Heart's Content in Newfoundland in 1871; his name was also spelled Waddon.



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.


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