Recorded in several forms including Cadney, Cadamy and Cadany, this is an English surname. It is locational from the village of Cadney in the county of Lincolnshire, although it seems to have developed its variant forms of Cadamy and Cadany in its move to Norfolk. The name means "Cada's island" from the Olde English pre 7th century personal name Cada, and "eg", an island. This may not have necessarily been an island surrounded by water, it may have been simply a hill amongst low lying lands, but as the name occurs in the original fen country it probably was an island surrounded by water. The village is first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 as Cadenai, and later in 1212 as Cadenia. Locational names are usually "from" names. That is to say names given to people after they left their original homes to move somewhere else. Spelling being at best erratic and local dialects very thick, often as with this name, lead to the development of "sounds like" spellings. Examples of recordings taken from surviving church registers include those of Robert Cadney at St Giles Norwich, on August 21st 1757, Mary Cadamy, who married William Hudson at Great Snoring on December 28th 1784, and Anne Cadany, who married James Lee at Fakenham, on July 1st 1802

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