This unusual name has a number of possible origins. Firstly, it may be a variant form of the medieval English female given name 'Ma(ha)lt' or 'Mau(l)d', from the Norman (French) name 'Matilde', 'Matilda', composed of the Old Germanic elements 'maht', might, strength, with 'hild', battle, which was introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. Secondly, the surname Mudd may be of Anglo - Saxon origin from the Old English pre 7th Century personal name 'Mod(a)', a short form of various compound names containing the element 'mod', spirit, mind, courage. Finally, the surname may be topographic name for someone who lived in a particularly muddy area, derived from the Middle English 'mud', mud. It may perhaps also be a metonymic occupational name for a dauber (one who constructed buildings of wattle and daub). The marriage of John Mudd and Elizabeth Ireland was recorded at St. Dunstan's in the East, London, on July 25th 1562. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo Mud, which was dated 1205, The Suffolk Pipe Rolls, during the reign of John, known as 'Lackland', 1199 - 1216. 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.