Recorded in several forms including Ogden, Ogsden, and the dialectal Hogsden, this is an English surname. It is locational and derives either from the places in West Yorkshire or in Lancashire called Ogden, or from now 'lost' medieval villages, of which the only reminder in the late 20th century is the surname itself. The placename means "the oak valley", and originates from the Old English pre 7th Century word "ac", meaning oak, with "denu", a valley. Locational names were given particularly to those former inhabitants of a place who left it to live or work in another area, and were thereafter known as, for instance, Richard de Okeden, recorded in the 1332 Lancashire Subsidy Rolls. The marriage of Samuel Ogden to Alice Chadderton was recorded on April 29th 1592 in Manchester, whilst Randall Ogden was an early emigrant to the colonies of New England, leaving London in March 1634, bound for the Barbadoes. The coat of arms most associated with the family depicts a black shield, on a silver fesse six golden acorns and three oak leaves. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elias de Aggeden. This is dated 1246, in the Lancashire Assize Rolls, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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