This interesting surname is derived from the Gaelic Bridroc a diminutive of Bride, itself coming from the Middle English "bird", "brid", Old English pre 7th Century "bridd" meaning "nestling", "young bird", applied as a nickname or perhaps occasionally as a metonymic occupational name for a bird catcher. It may also be a diminutive of the female personal name Brighid, bring of uncertain origin, but may mean "Exalted". The surname dates back to the late 12th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Joan Brydok (1379), "The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Bradick, Braddock, Bradock, etc.. Constance Braddock married Francis Penn on May 25th 1582, in London. Elizabeth Bradick was christened at St. Dunstan, Stepney, London, on August 10th 1637, and William Braddick was christened at St. Leonards, Shoreditch, London, on July 24th 1769. Robert son of Elizabeth and Thomas Braddick, was christened at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, on January 30th 1793. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Bridoc, one of the Assize on the boundaries of Stobbe, which was dated circa 1190, in the Registrum episcopates Glasguensis, Edinburgh, during the reign of King William, known as "The Lion", 1165 - 1214. 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.