This very rare name is probably of Huguenot emigre status although this is not proven. What is known is that the name has several alternative 'anglicized' spellings and that the original derivation is probably from the Germanic 'Bodemeyer' a name recorded heraldically and translating as 'one who prayed' a professional prayer maker. The name development in England is fairly modern, not being recorded at all before the 18th Century, and including the following examples, Thomas Boddymend who married Elizabeth Scales at St. Pauls Church, Deptford on December 16th 1821, Elizabeth Bodymead christened on April 7th 1828 at St. Alphage, Greenwich and Frederich Bodmead who was christened at Thames Ditton, Surrey on October 29th 1843. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Bedmad, which was dated January 30th 1759, christened at the church of St. Andrews by the Wardrobe, London, during the reign of King George II, The Last Warrior King, 1727 - 1760. 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.

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