Recorded in several forms including Tideswell, Tidswell, Tidgewell and no doubt others, this is a very early English medieval surname. It is locational and originates from the village of Tideswell in the county of Derbyshire, where it would seem the original nameholders were lords of the manor of Tideswell. The place name and hence the surname, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names, means 'Tidda's spring' from the pre 7th century personal name Tidda or Tudda and 'waella', a spring or branch of a river. However it is also possible that as the derivation of the personal name is from the word 'tud' meaning good, the place name itself may have the literal meaning of 'good spring', that is to say a spring of fresh water suitable for drinking. The place name is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Tidesuuelle' , spelling which has to be attributed to a Norman cleric, who found difficulty with the Derbyshire accent, as many have since! The surname is very early with Henry de Tideswell being recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Landowners of Derbyshire in 1273, and Ricardus de Tyddeswelle being recorded in the Poll Tax Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379.

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