Piddington

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small rural village in southern England, found in more than one county ; a family name of English origin carried by people with this surname
2. A small English village in the countryside of southern England ; a surname of English origin shared by various individuals
3. An English village in a rural county of southern England ; a family surname borne by people of English descent

Etymology: Most Piddingtons take their name from the Old English "-ingtun", meaning "estate or settlement of the people of", joined to a personal name. For this place, the first element is probably the personal name "Pydda", so the name would mean something like "Pydda's people's farmstead". Several villages with this name exist, in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, and each has its own record of early spellings. The surname came later, when people who lived in or came from one of these villages took the place name as a family name. The name looks as if it might share a root with "piddle", the Dorset river name and the verb, but it does not. The Dorset river name and its villages come from a different Old English word, and the Piddington villages are not connected to it. The resemblance is coincidence.