Recorded in many spelling forms including Hallday, Halliday, Holdy, Hauldey, Houldey, Huldie and Holdey, this interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon pre 7th century origins. It is a seasonal surname originally given to someone born on a "holy day", a religious festival. The name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "haligdaeg", composed of the elements "halig", holy, and "daeg", day. Other names conferred as seasonal surnames in a similar way were Christmas, and Pask or Pascall for those born at Easter. The surname as Halliday and Haliday is well recorded in Scotland, being first recorded there in 1303, when one Adam de Halide was a juror on an inquest at St. Andrews. The long-established Halliday family of Hoddom, Dumfriesshire gave their name to Halliday Hill. Recordings from later church registers include the marriage of James Halliday and Marion Henderson in Edinburgh, on October 1st 1607, and the christening of Catherine Holdy at St Katherines by the Tower (of London), on November 25th 1622. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Suein Halidai, which was dated 1188, in the "Pipe Rolls" of the county of Nottinghamshire". This was during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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