Origin of the Name Hadden
The
Hadden family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Hadden
include Haddan, Haddon, Haddin, Howden, Hadian and many others. This is a name of locational origin and is taken from several places in England and Scotland , especially at Kelso, Derbyshire, Dorset, Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire. The name is derived form old words that mean 'heather-hill' or 'heath-hill'. An early record of the name refers to a Ulkillus de Hauden who was a grant witness in Kelso about the year 1165. A Silvester Hadden of Kellor was recorded as being a witness at Forfar in the year 1514. An Alexander Haddin was recorded as having been in Edinburgh in the year 1696. An Ailwin de Haddun was recorded in the year 1159 in the 'Pipe Rolls' of London. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired lands by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals.
In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland , especially during the seventeenth century. It was the 'Plantations of Ireland ' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that marked the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland . While the influx of settlers in the wake of the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.
Some Haddens in Ireland may be of the O'hEidin Gaelic sept of County Roscommon, who also anglicized their name as Hedian and Hadian.
The Hadden coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Hadden descendants.