Recorded in many spellings including Cadd, Cade, Kadd and Kade, this interesting and unusual English and sometimes German surname has three distinct possible origins. The first is from the Olde English pre 7th century personal name "Cada", which derives from a word meaning a "swelling" or "lump", and as such might have been used as a nickname for a stout person. The second possible origin is from the Olde French word cade, meaning a cask or barrel, the surname therefore being a metonymic for a cooper or barrel-maker. The third source is from the Middle English "cade", meaning a pet, domestic animal, especially one left by its mother and reared by hand. In this case the surname would evolve from a nickname for a gentle, inoffensive person. John Cade (deceased 1450), was the leader of the Kentish rebellion against Henry V1 in 1450, and was killed at Heathfield in July of that year. Amongst the recordings of the name in the surviving London Church Registers are the marriage of Anthony Kade and Margaret Holte, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on November 11th 1554, and the christening of Robert Cade at Harrow on the Hill on October 30th 1575. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Eustace Cade, which was dated 1186, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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