This interesting surname is of English locational origin from the place so called in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The place is recorded as Coverdal in the Feet of Fines of the county (1202), and derives its name from the river "Cover" plus "dale" a valley; hence "valley of the river cover". The river was recorded as "Cobre" in 1130, and the component elements are the Welsh "cau" meaning hollow plus "bero" a rill. The surname is first recorded in the mid 13th Century, (see below). One Thomas de Coverdale is registered in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire (1297), and John Couerdale is noted in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns (1379). Other recordings of the surname from Danby in Cleveland Church Registers, Yorkshire, include; Stephanus Coverdale, who married Francisca Fisher, on May 4th 1591; on July 8th 1591, Jacobus Coverdale married Agnes Agar; Richus, son of Jacobi Coverdale, was christened on November 28th 1591; and Alicea, daughter of Stephani Coverdale, was christened on May 4th 1592. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reginald de Coverdall, witness which was dated 1245, in the "Fine Court Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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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