This is a name which has two possible origins. The first is as a patronymic of the Olde Saxon topographcial name 'Rode' or 'Rhode' (a clearing) and translates as 'Son of R(h)ode', the second is Irish and derives from the County Donegal clan O' Rodain, which translates as the son (ain) of the descendant (O') of the strong one (rod). Either way the name has long been recorded in England, the spellings include Mary Raden (1641) christened at St. Olaves, Southwark, on October 18th of that year, Edward Raddan, who married Elizabeth Calverly on January 13th 1721 at Lincolns Inn Chapel, Ebenezer Raddon, christened at St. Botolphs, Cripplegate on February 12th, 1693. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Jonathan Radden, which was dated 1626, married Anne Hawkins at the church of St. Andrew by the Wardrobe, London, during the reign of King Charles I, 'The Martyr', 1625 - 1649. 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.