Recorded in many spelling including Padden, Paddon, Pawden, Peadon, Peddon, Peden, Pedden, Paudin, Paydon, and Patten, this is a very confusing surname. It is in most cases English in origin, but can be Scottish, or possibly even Irish. Over the centuries with the movement of the population, the spellings have become very confused, and whilst associated and overlapping, may ultimately be from entirely different origins. Of these there are at least two, each with its own history and separate development. Firstly and for most nameholders, it is almost certainly locational. If so it may originate from any of at least ten different places. These include the hamlet of Pedden in the county of Kent, or Payden, also in Kent, or from the 'lost' medieval locality of Patine near the town of Chelmsford, in the county of Essex, or the villages of Patton, in Shropshire and Westmorland. The meaning is 'Padda's settlement' from the pre 7th century Anglo-Saxon personal name Padda, and a second element derived from 'tun'. A second possible origin is northern English and Scottish. Here the derivation is from the ancient personal name Patrick, itself from the Latin "patricius", meaning the son of a noble father. Early examples of recordings include James Padyne, a witness in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1514, whilst on September 15th 1586, Robert Peddon, was christened at St. Giles Cripplegate, in the city of London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Patten. This was dated 1119, in the records of the county of Essex, during the reign of King Henry 1st, 1100 - 1135. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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