Recorded in spellings which include: Nudd, Nuds, Nood and Nudde, this very unusual surname is English, and medieval. According to a recent dictionary of English surnames it is said to be popular only in the Norfolk region of East Anglia. It is known that a major part of the county was until the late 17th century largely cut off from 'the mainland' by the profusion of lakes, marshes and swamps known as 'The Fens'. The dictionary suggests that the name as Nudd is a development of Hudd, itself a form of the French-Flanders personal name 'Hugh'. This may be so, as certainly the area around and including the county city of Norwich, was a home to the famous Flemish Weavers of the 13th century. Our opinion however is that the name is even older in origin, and a development of the Olde English pre 7th century 'atten yde'. This describes a person who lived by an ancient pagan funeral pyre or cemetary called an Ide or Yde. The usual surname spelling of this surname is Need, Noade or Node, and in support or confirmation of our theory, the famous lists of recordings known as the International Genealogical Index, containing an estimated one hundred and fifty million recordings, indicate that Nudd and Node are the same surname. Early examples of the surname recording taken from authentic surviving church registers include: Elizabeth Noods, the daughter of William Noods, who was christened at the church of St Mary Lothbury, in the city of London, on January 21st 1577, George Nudd, and his wife Margarett, who were witnesses at Yelverton church, in Norfolk, in 1582, (actual day unknown), and Lettyce Nudde, who married Robrite Man at Thrigby, also in Norfolk, on September 28th 1594.

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