Woldend History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Woldend family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in or near any of the places named Walden in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Northern Yorkshire. Woldend 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 Woldend 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 Woldend family

The surname Woldend 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 Woldend family

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

Woldend Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Woldend include Walden, Waldern, Waldon, Waldew and others.

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

Migration of the Woldend family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Woldend or a variant listed above: Humphrey and Robert Walden who settled in Virginia in 1623; Sam Walden who settled in Virginia in 1635; Thomas Walden, his wife and children and servants arrived in Barbados in 1680.

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