This interesting and rare name is a variant form of Maudling, which is of Middle English (1200 - 1500) origin, from "Maudeleyn", adopted from the Greek female given name "Magdalene". Magdalene is a byname, meaning woman from Magdala, which was a village on the Sea of Galilee, derived from the Hebrew "migdal", a tower. The name was given to the woman in the New Testament who was cured of evil spirits by Jesus, and who later became a faithful follower. The popularity of the given name increased with the supposed discovery of her relics in the 13th Century. The name variants include: Madelin(e), Madolin and Midland. Among the sample recordings in London are the marriages of Michael Midland and Jane Care on September 16th 1697 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, and of George Midland and Mary Wright on August 19th 1772 at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Maudeleyn, which was dated 1279, Rotuli Hundredorum, Oxfordshire, during the reign of King Edward 1, "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.