This interesting Anglo-Scottish surname has three possible origins. The first is from a medieval nickname for a lively, frisky person, and derives from the Middle English "kid(e)", meaning a young goat! The second possible origin is from the Middle English word "kidde" meaning a faggot of wood, and is an occupational surname for a seller of firewood and kindling. The third source is Anglo-Scottish, and is a derivative nickname of "Kit", itself a pet form of the name "Christopher", a Greek personal name introduced by Crusaders returning from the Holy Land in the 12th century. There are a number of variants of the modern surname including Kidd, Kidde, Kyd, Kydde, Kidman, etc. Early examples of the surname recordings include Reginald Kyd in the Hundred Rolls of Oxford for the year 1273, Willelmus Kydde in the 1379 Poll Tax Rolls of the same city, and Roger Kidd, who is recorded as being at "James Cittye, Virginea" on February 23rd 1623. This Roger Kidd was one of the very earliest settlers in the New World. Another was William Kidd of Boston, Massachusetts, who in 1696 was given the command of a privateer to suppress piracy in 1696, but undertook piracy himself, finding it more profitable than being a "Kings man". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Kide, which was dated 1181, in the pipe rolls of the county of Suffolk, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024