This is a metonymic occupational name for a cutler (one who specialised in making swords, knives and other cutting instruments). The name derives from the Olde English pre 7th century 'blaed' meaning 'a maker of blades' or a 'cutting edge'. The surname from this source is first recorded in the early 14th century. In the modern idiom the name has five spelling variations: Blades, Blaydes, Blader, Bladder and Blade-Smith. The latter form is first recorded in the 1357 'Register of the Freemen of the City of York', Nicholas Blad-Smith. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andrew le Blader which was dated 1305 The Calendar of Early Mayor's Court Rolls of Cambridge. during the reign of King Edward 1 The Hammer of the Scots 1272-1307 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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