This most interesting and unusual surname is a rare Italian patronymic form from the Latin personal name "Claudius", now popularly found as Claude in France. This is a clan name, probably meaning "limping". When, however, one of the clan became Emperor (Tiberius Claudius, 41 - 54 A.D.), he was flatteringly assured that his name really eant "glorious", and was connected with the verb "clueo", to be spoken of, reputed. Loyalty to the Imperial family made the personal name fashionable in the 1st and 2nd Centuries. In the 6th Century the fame of St. Claude of Besancon began the spread of the name in Western Europe; in France it was given to boys and girls alike, while Claudio was, and still is, used in Italy. Thus the surname forms part of that group of Italian surnames which originated from Greek, Roman, Germanic and Hebrew personal names. Italian Church recordings of the name are mainly confined to Foggia. These include: the christening of Domenico, son of Francesco and Donata Di Claudio, on October 20th 1809; the christening of Maria, daughter of Francesco and Anciola Di Claudio, on January 13th 1811; and the marriage of Vincenzo Di Claudio to Rachela Gioielli, on May 2nd 1824. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Pierre Claude, which was dated 1492, in "French Armorial Records (Lorraine)", France, during the reign of King Charles V111 of France, 1483 - 1498. 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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