This intriguing and most interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and a diminutive form of Cuthbert, which itself is from the Middle English personal name "Cudbert", Olde English "Cuethbeorht", composed of the elements "cueth", famous, well-known, and "beorht", bright. The name was borne by a 7th Century saint, who was bishop of Hexham and later of Lindisfarne, and remained popular because of his cult throughout the Middle Ages, especially in Northern England and the lowlands of Scotland. Other diminutives found in the modern idiom include Cuthbe, Cudby, Cuddy, Cutt, and Cussen. Early recordings of Cuthbert include William Cutbright in the 1260 Assize Court Rolls of Cambridgeshire, and John Cudbert in the 1279 Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire. Christopher Cud married Jone Wix on June 2nd 1551, at St. Mary Abbots, Kensington, London, and Robitus Cudd married Anna White on October 29th 1564, at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Cudde, which was dated 1358, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Staffordshire", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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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