The origin of this unusual name is not proven, but is believed to be a patronymic i.e. "the son of Durd", a short form of the Olde French personal nickname Durdent meaning "Hard Tooth". One Roger Duredent is recorded in the 1148 "Register of the Abbey of Bec", Sussex and a Nicholas Durdon in the 1428, Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire. The surname Durdey with variant forms Durdie, Durday, Dirdy and Dyrdy is well recorded in Yorkshire Church Registers from the early 17th Century. On January 29th 1631 one, Margreta Durdey married a Thomas Ragg in Sheffield and on February 1st 1729, Margaret Durdy and Joseph Feridge were married at Hatfield near Doncaster. The final 'ie' or 'ey' suffixes added to the name mean "little". Hence "Little Durd' or "son of Durd". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ann Durdy, daughter of Richard Durdy. which was dated March 18th 1683, christened at Darfield, Yorkshire. during the reign of King Charles II, The Merry Monarch, 1660 - 1685. 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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