Although found in the various spellings of Mardlen, Mardelen, Mardlin, Mardling and Mardalen, this is still a very rare name. We have not been able to establish any recordings before that shown in the Mid 18th Century and this suggests that the "name" not only has variants, but is itself a variant. The lateness of the developed form strongly suggests that the name is locational in origin and derives from a now "lost" village or site of which there are over seven thousand in Britain. The most likely source is from "Martland" Robert Martland being recorded at All Hallows London in 1675. It is also possible that the name is a derived form of "Magdalen" (pronounced "Maudling") an early form of the female "Madeline". The recordings include Thomas Mardling of Finsbury (January 24th 1830), and Joel Mardling of Stepney on October 1st 1871. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Williaim Mardlen (also recorded as Mardlin), which was dated October 9th 1743, A Witness at St. Paul's, Deptford, during the reign of King George 11, "The last Soldier", 1727 - 1760. 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.