This intriguing name is a dialectual variant of the name Puddlefoot. It is clear that the second element is not 'foot' but 'fat' probably a pre 7th Century word 'faet' a vessel or vat and the first is probably from the Germanic root 'pud' meaning to swell and bulge. Hence, it is possibly a nickname for a man resembling a barrel or even for a butcher because of the puddings he made. Amongst the recorded examples in London are the marriages of Ann Puddefoot, and Henry Ralls in 1785 at St. Leonard's, Shoreditch and Elisabeth Puddefoot and John Gray on June 27th 1785 at St. Leonard's, Shoreditch. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph Pudifat, which was dated 1188 Pipe Rolls Cambridgeshire, during the reign of King Henry 11, The Builder of Churches, 1154 - 1189. 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.