This late English name is a variant spelling which derives from one of the following base sources. The first and most likely is as a derivative of the popular surname "Godman" or "Goodman", names recorded in the medieval period and being described as a nickname for a Good or Godly person being first recorded as Richardus Godmund in the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk in 1273. The second possibility is from the French "Guidemora". The translation being the same, the third is from Godliman, a transposition of Godalming. The first name holder shown below married one Joshua Dunn at St. Leonards, shoreditch on the 24th March, 1788. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mary Gidman. which was dated 1761, Baptised at St. Saviours Church, Sourthwark. during the reign of King George 111, known as "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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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