This unusual name is of Germanic origin, adopted by the Normans and introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066 in the Anglo-French form of "waldin", in Olde French "Gaudin". The name derives from a diminutive form of Olde German personal names beginning with the element "wald", with the diminutive suffix "in" or "en". An example of such a formation of "Walter", which is composed of the Germanic elements "wald", rule, and "heri", "hari", army, which was brought to England by the Normans as "Waltier" and "Wautier" with the variants "Gualter" and "Gault(i)er". "Gauden" is recorded as a personal name in 1188, in the Latin form of "Gaudinus". Anne Gauden was married to Hughe Davis on the 21st October 1590 in London. John Gauden (1605 - 1662) Bishop of Worcestershire, was a loyal supporter of Charles 11 during the Commonwealth years in England. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Peter Gaudin, which was dated 1237, in the "Book of Fees", (Devonshire), 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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