Question

Would be interested to hear from anyone researching the Cornish names of Eddy, Udy and variants.

Comments

Hi Davey, Have you ever gotten a Y-DNA test? The Y-DNA test can help you pinpoint the specific Eddy family and immigrant you may descend from. I run the Eddy DNA project at Family Tree DNA. Many men from the Eddy Family Association were tested with Ancestry, but ancestry.com stopped all services for Y-DNA and alot of them never transferred their results to my project.  What has been learned from the DNA testing so far is that the major Eddy families studied by the EFA were not related to each other as had been suspected by them. I am still trying to find all them who tested with ancestry and get them into my project. But I am also trying to find new Eddy men to test. The Y-DNA test results are based on specific markers that do not mutate over time and can be taken for our project by men with the last name of Eddy or a spelling variant. I recommend men start with the minimum of 37 marker test. The more markers you buy the closer in time your matches will be if you match at 100%. A 37 marker test gets you into the 300-500 years ago and within a written genealogical time period. If you match someone 100% at 37 markers then it is encouraged to upgrade to 67 or 111 markers to see if you still are 100%. At 111 markers you would have a common ancestor within 100 years. If you are interested you can go to our project page here: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/eddy/about/background and join the project and order a test at the same time. Click the join button and then click join project by ordering a test. On the list of tests order a 37 marker Y-DNA test. 

For those men who are related to the Eddy's and do not have the surname and all related women you can still join the project by taking or transferring the Autosomal DNA test. Look at this link for my instructions. Scroll down the discussion for the full instructions. http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/73191/confusion-among-the-eddy-family 

---

Mur ras dheugh why Kari,

I must get around to pursuing this route - it would doubtless be of great help here in Cornwall and most certainly to those interested further afield.

I wonder - what would it take to prove or disprove a link between the names Eddy, Edey, Udy and Udie - these names each appearing so far in research  back to the 1400's commonly, which makes things a little difficult sometimes to say the least?

Davey

---

In checking the Udy surname in the UK, Cornwall, England comes up first. In fact the first 28 hits at familysearch.org show Cornwall.

---

If you can find living men who have these surnames, get them Y-dna tested and this would be your proof. I would welcome you and any people you can bring in to the project. This would be a huge help to those families in the US trying to connect to Great Britain. FTDNA does ship to Great Britain. I think they use DHL for all international shipping. Using this site and it's DNA tools is a great way to track your Cornwall project in addition to my Eddy DNA project at FTDNA. I add living people with only initials and then invite them so they can do what they want with their page, but I also remain as a editor.

---

As far as I am aware both the names Udy and Eddy are more frequent in Cornwall than anywhere else and this historically appears to be the case for many hundreds of years .........

Answer 1

Eddy

This interesting surname of English origin is a patronymic of the middle English given name Edwy, Old English pre 7th Century Eadwig, composed of the elements "ead" meaning "prosperity" or "fortune" plus "wig" "war". The surname dates back to the mid 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Adam Eadwy (1275), "The Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Eddis, Edds, Edes, Edis, Edison, Edesin etc.. One Richard Eyddes married Johanna Edley in London in 1533, and Joan Eddie married William Woode on January 20th 1600 at St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London. Herbert Edes was christened in 1606 at University College, Oxford, and Thomas, son of Thomas and Frances Eddie, was christened on April 16th 1653 at St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Edwy, which was dated 1254, in "Archaeological Cantiana", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2015

Comments

Sorry but I find it hard to understand why there is no mention in regards to this name being very likely Cornish in origin?

Answer 2

Udy

This interesting and unusual name is a variant form of the popular medieval English male personal name Hudd or Hudde, which has a complex origin. In most cases the origin is from the personal name "Hugh", introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066. Hugh derives from a short form of various Germanic compound names beginning with the element "hug", meaning heart, mind, or spirit. The second possible origin is from an Olde English pre 7th century name, "Huda", as found in the place name Huddington, a village in Worcestershire. Finally, Hudde may have been used as a short, pet form of "Richard", another Germanic compound name introduced by the Normans and meaning "powerful brave". The variants of the modern surname Huddy, found as Udy and Udey, are frequently recorded in the West Country, more so than in London and the Home Counties. Examples are those of Digory Udey who married Loveday Coombe at Lostwithiel in Cornwall January 23rd 1785, whilst the first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Richard Udie. This was dated 1544, when he married Alse Nanskevell, at St. Columb Major, Cornwall, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Bluff King Hal", 1509 - 1547.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2015

 

Comments

Thankyou Frank but I'm not convinced - little mention given to the fact that Udy was a recognised surname here in Cornwall pre 1400?

Doctor Bernard Deacon of Exeter University seems to believe that the Eddy and Udy surnames are one and the same and it would appear that Udy is the pre English version - other Cornish authorities have claimed the name as originating in St. Issey, Cornwall.

---

Certainly from the evidence I have found - there is a direct link to the Eddy name from that of Udy or Udie ......... I have no doubt whatsoever now that this is the case for the Eddy's of Cornwall and that which sets them apart from those claiming roots in Bristol or Cranbrook.

---

Having looked at the facts a little closer I am amazed that 'Name Origin Research' @ www.surnamedb.com are able to claim this as both a title and a result of research for themselves - complete and utter rubbish! It is shameful that such nonsense is given any credit at all and must certainly be the cause of considerable confusion to any person outside of the U.K. who might be looking for the origins of their surname.

---

Udy was quite a common forename in Cornwall in the early 1500s, a local variant of the Saxon and Norman Odo/Otto, and it became a surname then as a patronymic. By the 1600s it had morphed into Huddy and Eddy.

---

Could you provide evidence for this assertion please Jos Flood?

---

Surnamedb.com has the Eddy surname and they have a different take on the early forms of the surname. 

Eddy

This interesting surname of English origin is a patronymic of the middle English given name Edwy, Old English pre 7th Century Eadwig, composed of the elements "ead" meaning "prosperity" or "fortune" plus "wig" "war". The surname dates back to the mid 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Adam Eadwy (1275), "The Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Eddis, Edds, Edes, Edis, Edison, Edesin etc.. One Richard Eyddes married Johanna Edley in London in 1533, and Joan Eddie married William Woode on January 20th 1600 at St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London. Herbert Edes was christened in 1606 at University College, Oxford, and Thomas, son of Thomas and Frances Eddie, was christened on April 16th 1653 at St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Edwy, which was dated 1254, in "Archaeological Cantiana", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2017

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Eddy#ixzz4kAUZoo75

---

Otto

Recorded as Otto, Odo, Odda, and patronymics Odson, Odeson, Otheson, Otson, Ottosen, Ottoson, and possibly others, this is a surname that in various ways has been recorded in England since 1066 but is probably of early Scandanvian - Viking origins. It translates as "wealth," and was originally as Oda and Otto a personal name that was hereditary within the Saxon royal family of Germany. It was also the name of Otto, the half brother of Duke William of Normandy, the future William 1st of England, and later known as The Conqueror. Otto was subsequently rewarded for his support of William during the famous Conquest of 1066 with no less than four hundred and thirty nine manors confiscated from the Anglo-Saxons! As a surname at least fourteen coats of arms have been granted to the Otto's of Saxony, Prussia, Austria, The Netherlands and France. It is unclear when the name was first recorded in England other than that of Duke Otto of Normandy, who does not seem to have left descendants. Examples of recordings taken from early surviving church registers of the city of London include Francis Otson at St Botolphs without Aldagte, in 1571, Elizabeth Otto, at St. Pauls, Westminster in 1697, and Fredreick Ottoson at the famous church of St Mary-le-Bone, on November 7th 1795. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2017

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Otto#ixzz4kAUuPxdt

---

https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=eddy

In England, Eddy surname is most abundant in Cornwall, followed by Devon and Durham. Very high concentrations are in Kirkcudbrightshire, and West Lothian, Scotland followed by Lanarkshire.

---

Silly capcha thing wont work.

Just look at all the 1500 records - in the 1522 Tudor taxes  I see about eight Udy forenames and a few Udy 'surnames'. (Cornwall was still running largely on the patronymic system then). In 1569 Muster still no Huddy or Eddy.

By 1642 Protestation, there are Huddy and Eddy all over the place, they have obviously been in Cornwall  for a very long time.

This was actuallypretty common during the period when Cornwall was adjusting to the idea of surnames -  we have lots of en-masse name changeovers from old patronymics etc. When you've been doing this for ten years, you spot them straight away.
 
We need to get some Huddy and Eddy into the CORNWALL DNA project  to prove they are the same (noting that there are likely independent streams of UDY). We just got our first HUDDY today which is why i am here.

Check out the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names  which (independently) agrees with me on EDDY.

You can of course argue as to whether Udy is Odo or Hud, but they are probably variants of the same thing. EUDE is another one.

---

"Odo is a name typically associated with historical figures from the Middle Ages and before. Odo is etymologically related to the names Otho and Otto, and to the French name Odon and modern version Eudes, and to the Italian names Ottone and Udo; all come from a Germanic word meaning "possessor of wealth".

Odo the Great in Aquitaine before 700 AD - too early for Vikings

Eudes was the French version (silent s) and the name of a saint. Eudes Count of Orleans 834. Eude and Udy are pretty much the same thing in pronunciation.  

---

I have spent over 20 years working on my own line of Eddy's and am inclined to believe the name is more likely to stem from St.Tudy, some claim he was a Cornishman, others that he was a Breton, but whichever way the roots are Cornish

---

Correct. St Tudy = St Udy, the saint I mentioned. They often named their children for local saints, for good luck. For example, MADDERN was originally a forename, from St Madron's Well, from which the parish of Madron is also named. SAMPSON is similar.

You are welcome to join the CORNWALL project at any time. Apart from anything else, we have discovered large amounts of rare ancient Y-DNA dating back to the Beaker period. Basic Y37 DNA test is on special atm.
https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/cornwall/

Answer 3

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/eddy/about/background

-----------------------------------------------------------------

1. Robert Eddy: Birth 1768 Cornwall, England 
2. Robert Eddy: Birth 23 Feb 1794 Cornwall, England
3. Robert Eddy: Birth 1816 Cornwall, England
4. Joseph Henry Eddy: Birth 1840 Cornwall, England
5. David William Eddy: Birth Aug 1869 Wisconsin
6. Wayne Fourre Eddy: Birth 06 Sep 1912, Kansas
7. Test 36501: Birth 22 Jan 1950 California

-----------------------------------------------------------------