Recorded as Breadon, Breedon, Breden, Breydon, Breydin, Briddon and others, this is an English surname. It is locational either from the village of Breedan, near to the famous town of Ashby de la Zouch in the county of Warwickshire, or the similarlarly named Bredon near Tewkesbury in the county of Worcestershire. Both place names being pronounced the same. The origin of the name again in both cases is from the the Olde English pre 7th century words 'brere-dun', and means the place on the briar covered hill. Locational surnames are usually either the names given to the local lord of the manor and his descendants, or to former inhabitants of the place who for whatever reason had moved somewhere else, and were best identified by the name of their former home. Spelling being at best indifferent, and local accents very thick, often lead to the development of 'sounds like' spellings. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph de Bredon. This was dated 1273, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Leicester during the reign of King Edward Ist of England, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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