This is an English surname of great interest. It derives comes from a medieval nickname for someone who behaved in a wild fashion, (or given the robust humour of the period, the complete reverse!), and is claimed to describe an untamed spirit or in later terms "a rake". The origination is from the Old English pre 7th Century word "wilde" meaning untamed, and "blod", meaning blood or spirit. Nicknames formed with the element "wilde" were popular in medieval England, and gave rise to a wide range of surnames including Wild, Wilde, Wilding, Wildman and Wilderman. Examples which include now extinct forms, are those of Richard Wildecat of Worcestershire in 1176, William Wildebef of Sussex in 1327, and William Wildecnave also in 1327, but from Worcestershire. Examples of the Wildblood recordings taken from surving early church registers of the diocese of Greater London include: Edward Wildbloud, who was christened at St James Clerkenwell, in 1607, whilst James Carr married Mary Wildblood also in London in 1626. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Roger Wyldeblod. This was dated 1366, in the Subsidy Tax Rolls of Lancashire, during the reign of King Edward IIIrd of England, 1327 - 1377. 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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