This interesting and unusual surname, with variant spellings Siddele, Sidell and Syddall, is of northern English locational origin from Siddal in the parish of Halifax, Yorkshire West Riding, or from Siddall, an estate in the parish of Middleton, Lancashire. The name, in both cases, derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "sid" meaning "wide" or "spacious", plus "halh", a nook or recess, and is first recorded in the latter half of the 14th Century (see below). In 1563, one Janet Sydell of Fullwood was recorded in Lancashire Will Records at Richmond. The name is widely represented in parish registers of Yorkshire and Lancashire from the late 16th Century. On September 22nd 1573, Alexander, son of William Siddall, was christened in St. Peter's, Leeds, Yorkshire and on July 22nd 1574, the christening of Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Syddall, was recorded in Manchester Cathedral, Lancashire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Sydall, which was dated 1379, in the "Poll Tax Returns Records of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Richard 11, known as "Richard of Bordeaux", 1377 - 1399. 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.