This interesting surname, with variant spellings Corderey, Cordrey, Cordurey, Cordeary and Cordray, is of French origin, and is from a nickname for a proud man, deriving from the Old French "cuer de roi", meaning "king's heart". It may also derive from the Old French "corderie", meaning "rope-walk" (a long narrow covered shed where ropes were made), a worker at the ropery. The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below), and further early recordings include: Thomas le Cordrey, in the 1275 Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, and John de la Corderie, in the "Calendarium Genealogicum", dated 1292. Recordings from London Church Registers include: Anne Cordrye, who married William Wytlye on February 1577, at St. Michael's, Cornhill; Sarah Cordary, who married Benjamin Barnes on October 8th 1681, at St. Matthew's, Friday Street; and Sarah Cordery, who was christened on June 2nd 1768, at St. Andrew's, Holborn. A Coat of Arms was granted to the family consisting of a chevron between two mullets in chief and a gold lion passant in base ducally crowned, all within a silver border on a black shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rober de Querderai, which was dated circa 1200, in "Cartularium Abbathiae de Rievalle", Yorkshire, during the reign of King 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.

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