This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a locational surname deriving from the place called "harwich" in Essex. The placename is first recorded in the Essex Subsidy Rolls of 1238 as "Herwyz", and in 1253 as "Herewyk", and derives from the Old English pre 7th Century word "herewic(h)", a compound of "here", army, multitude, and "wic", settlement, or outlying farm, the whole meaning "the place of the army camp". The modern surname from this source, Harridge (and sometimes Harwich) shows the influence of phonetic spelling on the development of names. Other variants have been Harredge (1620, London), Hawridge (1619, Essex) and Haradge (1688, London). One David Harridge was christened on the 19th April 1695 at Leigh on Sea, Essex. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Harridge (marriage to Rose Davies), which was dated 1574, at St. Andrews by the Wardrobe, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603. 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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