KARDOS. This is a famous Hungarian surname. Recorded as Kardos and Kartos it derives from 'kard,' a word of Turkish origin, meaning a sword. As such the surname is or was in medieval times, a status or occupational name for a swordsman or perhaps a fencing master. The Polish surname Kardolinski and the Danish Kardoff are believed to have the same origin, and there may be others. The coat of arms most associated with the surname has the blazon of a blue shield charged with a cross moline inside a horsehoe, all gold. Unfortunately Hungarian baptismal records are at best erratic, many having been lost or deliberately destroyed in the upheavals of Central Europe in the past century, and particularly during the Communist regime of 1947 to 1989. STOWE. The ancient English surname of Stow or Stowe is one of the earliest of all surnames. It originates from the pre 7th century word "stow" meaning a meeting place attached to a hermitage or monastery. Stoua, now Stow cum Quy in the county of Cambridge, is recorded in the famous Domesday Book of England in 1086, and is probably the place of origin of Winobus de Stoue as shown below. There are over twenty British places which include Stow or Stowe in their name including the famous Stowe in Buckinghamshire. Interesting nameholders include John Stow of London (1525 - 1605), a freeman of the Merchant Taylors Company, and William Henry Stowe (1825 - 1855), the war correspondent of 'The Times' in the Crimean War. Unfortunately he was also a civilian casualty, dying of trench fever at Balaclava. The coat of arms has the blazon of a green shield charged with a cross ragulee between four leopards faces, all gold. The first recorded spelling of the family name was Winobus de Stoue. This was dated 975 a.d. in the records known as The Book of Ely, Cambridgeshire, during the reign of King Edward the Martyr, 975 - 978. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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