This name is of English locational origin from any of the various places that get their name from the Olde English pre 7th Century 'hoesel', hazel, plus 'denu', a valley, for example Heselden in Durham and Hasselden in Sussex. The surname from the former source is first recorded in the mid 13th Century, (see below). One, Alexander de Haselindene appears in the 1258 'Records of the Abbey of Kirkstall', Yorkshire and a Reginald de Haselden in the 1275 'Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire'. In the 'modern' idiom the name has at least twenty five spelling variations including Hazelden(e), Hazeldine, Hazeldeane, Haseldine, Haizelden, Heselden etc.. On May 13th, 1783 James, son of James and Mary Heselden, was christened in St. Mary's, St. Marylebone road, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de (of) Heseldene, witness, which was dated 1243, in the Assize Court Rolls of Durham, 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.