This very interesting surname may be either of early Welsh or English origin. As a Welsh surname it has two possible sources. The first is occupational for a bard, and deriving from the Old Welsh word "prydydd" meaning poet. Eynon Predith, the bard of Elfael, was recorded in the Subsidy Tax rolls of Wales in 1292, whilst Richard Pridie also recorded as Prydie and Priddie, appears in the Medieval records of Tenby and Manorbierin 1307 and appears to be the same person as Rice Priditt of Dale, also in Pembrokeshire! The second possible origin is a development of the name Predyr. This was borne in Arthurian legend by one of the Knights of the Round Table, and is believed to translate as "Steel spear," a handy name for a knight. Thirdly the name if English, can be loc-ational, from the parish and village of Priddy, north west of Wells in Somerset. Recorded as Pridi in 1180, and as Pridie in the tax rolls known as the Feet of Fines for that county in 1230, the place name derives from the word "pridd", meaning earth or soil. In the modern idiom the surname is variously spelt: Preddy, Preedy, Priddie, Priddey, Prydie, and others. Examples of recordings include that on March 15th 1563, of Alicia Pridie, the daughter of Joannis Pridie, who was christened at Wedmore, Somerset. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes 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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