This interesting surname of English origin is a locational name from any of the various places so called in the West Riding of Yorkshire for example Cridling Park, deriving from the personal name "Crioda", "Creoda", plus "park" meaning "an enclosed stretch of land for beasts of the chase", and Cridling Stubbs, deriving from "Crioda", "Creoda" plus "stubb" meaning "stump", hence a clearing where stumps were left". The place names are recorded as Cridelinc in the Yorkshire charters of 1157, and as Cridling in the Feet of Fines of 1202. The surname dates back to the early 17th Century, (see below). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Cridlon, Cridlan, etc.. Elizabeth, daughter of John and Judith Cridlan, was christened at St. Marylebone, St. Mary Street, London, on August 28th 1774, and Henry, son of Joseph and Margaret Cridlin, was christened on August 8th 1778, at St. Mary Battersea, London. Sarah, daughter of John and Elizabeth Cridlin, was christened at St. Luke, Old Street, Finsbury, London on July 24th 1796. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Austice Creedland married Thomas West, which was dated 1625, in St. Benet Paul's Wharf, London, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.