This name is of English locational origin from a place in Alverdiscott, Devonshire, called Higher Kingdon or from Kingsdon a parish in Somersetshire near Somerton. The name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "cyning", a king (originally a tribal leader from the Olde English "cyn(n), a tribe or race, plus the German suffix "ing" usually explained as "Ing's people"), plus "dun", a hill. The name is particularly well recorded in the parish of North Molton, Devon from the mid 16th Century, (see below). On November 21st 1546, John Kyngdon and Chrystian Balmente were married in the above parish. In the modern idiom, the name has four spelling variations:- Kingdon, Kyngdon, Kindon and Kingdom. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Kyngdon. which was dated April 5th, 1543, christened at North Molton. during the reign of King Henry VIII, Bluff King Hal, 1509 - 1547. 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.