This interesting name is the patronymic form of the Medieval English male personal name 'Wade', and can be found in the modern forms of Wadeson and Waidson. The medieval 'Wade' is a development of the Anglo-Saxon, Old English name 'Wada', an ancient name recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Wada', 'Wade' and 'Wado', which derives from the verb 'wadan', to go, and is found also in the Old German form of 'Wado'. The persistence and popularity of the personal name was due in part to the tale of the legendary sea-giant, Wada or Wade, who was dreaded and honoured by the coastal people of the North Sea and the Baltic. As a surname, Wade is recorded first in the 1166 Essex Pipe Rolls, as Godwin Wade. The marriage of Thomas Wadeson and Elizabeth Tompson was recorded at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, London, on January 16th 1642. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Wadson (christening), which was dated February 2nd 1588, St. Andrew's, Holborn, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558-1603. 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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