This English surname has undergone many developments over the centuries. It is in fact habitational, and derives from residence at some place called "Sand", plus "eg", meaning "an island", as for instance the town of Sandy in Bedfordshire. This place was originally recorded as "Sandeia" in 1185 (Pipe Rolls of Bedford) and later as "Sandee" in the 13th Century. The intrusive "r" is dialectal, to aid medieval pronunciation, although it is possible that a medieval hamlet (Sandry) could have existed, but the original meaning would have been the same as the modern Sandy. The variant recordings show some extraordinary versions of what is a simple spelling. These include: Daniel Sundry, christened at St. Dunstan's in the East, Stepney, on December 13th 1666, whilst Christopher Christian Sundries appears in the records of St. Gabriel's Church, Fenchurch, on February 23rd 1805. Earlier on February 2nd 1658, John Sundry married Margarett Scarth at the Church of St. Margaret Pattens, London, in the last year of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate (1650 - 1658). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Sandraye, which was dated May 17th 1544, christened at Christ Church, Newgate, London, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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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