Recorded in various spelling forms including: Duerden, Duerdin, and Durden, this is an Enlish surname of pre 7th century origins. It is locational from a place called Dearden near Edenfield, in the county of Lancashire. The place name derives from the Old English word "deor" meaning a deer, and "denu", a valley, thus the valley of the deer. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their former village. Spelling being at best erratic and local accents very thick, lead to the development of 'sounds like' spellings. The surname development since the mid 16th century includes examples of recordings such as Elizabeth Dearden of the city of Chester in 1630, and Robert Durden also of Chester in 1676. Amongst the sample recordings in London are the marriage of Richard Durden and Margaret Hayes on May 13th 1663 at St. Giles, Cripplegate and the marriage of Sarah Duerdin and Samuel Adshead at Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire, on March 9th 1835. The first recorded spelling of the family name in the church registers may be that of Roberte Duerden who was christened on January 11th 1579, at Manchester Cathedral, Lancashire. This was during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.