Recorded as Wendt, Wende, Wend, and locational names such as Wenderoth, Wenderoth, Wenderodt, and apparently Wenderott, this is a surname of medieval German origins. It originates from the pre 7th century word 'winida,' to which has been added the suffix 'rot' meaning red. The meaning of 'winida' is uncertain. It is often taken to mean wavvy or bendy perhaps because there are many rivers called Wend, and because many rivers are wavvy or bendy, the river name has been transposed in meaning. Red river may or may not be a logical name. Strictly speaking whatever the original meaning, Wend is tribal and describes the Wend people. These people were of considerable standing and in the 5th century and during the Dark Ages, controlled much of Northern Germany. They had their own language called Wendish, itself of Slavish origin, and apparently still spoken in part of East Germany near the towns of Batzen and Cottbus. Locational surnames are often 'from' names. That is to say names given to people after they left their original villages and moved somewhere else. Spelling being at best erratic and local accents very thick, often lead to the development of 'sounds like' spellings. In this case the earliest known recording in any spelling is that of Gerlach Wenderod of Frtizlar, Germany, in the surviving charters of the year 1350.

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