This unusual and interesting name is a dialectal variant of the locational name Arderne from places so called in Cheshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire. The Ardernes who resided at Harden Hall, near Stockport in Cheshire are reputed to have been an early branch of the Warwickshire family. The derivation of the place in the North Riding of Yorkshire is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "barn", an eagle, and "denu", a valley; hence, "the valley of the eagles". The places in Cheshire and Warwickshire are derived from the Celtic word "ard", meaning high. Recordings from Cheshire Church Registers include: the marriage of John Ardron and Margearye Hybdaete on April 22nd 1592, at Prestbury, and the marriage of John Ardron and Alice Newtonne on October 1st 1610, at Mottnam in Longdendale, Cheshire. The Coat of Arms most associated with the family name is a red shield, three crosses crosslet fitchee and a gold chief, the Crest being a gold ducal coronet, seven silver feathers tipped red. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Heloise de Arderne, which was dated 1171, in the "History of Norfolk", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "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.