Youd (surname)

= Youd = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

YOUD (pronounced to rhyme with either "loud" or "food") is an English surname mostly found in Cheshire and Flintshire.

Variants of the surname are Youde, Eaude and Yould, however Youds is not part of this group.

The earliest record dates from 1427 and in 1562 the name appears in Little Budworth in Cheshire.

Little Budworth, St. Peter

Contents
[hide]
 * 1 Origin of the name
 * 2 Early records
 * 3 Distribution of the name
 * 4 People with surname Youd
 * 5 References

Origin of the name[edit]
Currently little is known about the meaning or origin of this unusual and rare surname, it is not listed in any books of British surnames. This has led to theories of Huguenot, Flemish or Jewish roots which cannot be substantiated. Viking roots are a more likely possibility as the Wirral peninsula was colonised by Norwegian Vikings from 902 AD onwards and Viking settlements also existed further inland in West Cheshire. It is hoped that DNA profiling from suitable Youd descendants will prove or disprove this theory.

Early records[edit]
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be John Eude in 1427, an English soldier stationed in Rouen garrison. He is listed as a man-at-arms on a muster roll from the Hundred Years' War with France.

Danse Macabre - Schoolmaster and Man-at-arms, 1486

Next, the surname appears in a 1562 recording of the baptism of Katrena Yolde in Little Budworth, St. Peter. Church records there started in 1561. The surname then spread to nearby towns and villages in West Cheshire and Flintshire, becoming relatively numerous in Frodsham, Hawarden, Oscroft, Kinnerton, Chester and eventually established in Liverpool from about 1740.

Over 40 variants of the surname were recorded in the 16th and 17th century, examples are: Yewd, Yeud, Yeoud, Yowd, Yeowed, Yowood, Eude, Eaude, Ewd, Hude, Hewde etc.

Today only Youd, Youde, Eaude and Yould are in use.

Distribution of the name[edit]
According to the Office for National Statistics some 670 people named Youd lived in England & Wales in 2002, together with 227x Youde, 104x Yould and 11x Eaude.

The Youd surname has spread to many parts of the British Isles and through emigration also to USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Key emigrants of interest to family historians are:

James Youd (born 1815 Oscroft) 1849 to Utah & California

Samuel Youd (born 1808 Oscroft) 1851 to Missouri

Thomas Youd (born 1813 Tarvin ) 1851 to Utah

John Youd (born 1838 Bradley) 1865 to Connecticut

Robert Moreton Youd (born 1846 Bradley) 1880 to New Zealand

George Youd (born 1855 Bradley) 1880 to New Zealand

John Youd (born 1879 Disley) aft 1911 to Vancouver

Fred Youd (born 1883 Waverton) 1908 to Chicago

Earl Youd (born 1889 Waverton) 1913 to Chicago

John (Jack) Youd (born 1879 Wybunbury) bef 1914 to Australia

Reginald Victor Youd (born 1897 Liverpool) 1939 to USA

People with surname Youd[edit]

 * Sam Youd (1922-2012), British science fiction writer, best known by his pseudonym John Christopher,
 * T. Leslie Youd (1939-), American geotechnical engineer

References[edit]

 * [1]
 * YOUD of Cheshire & YOUDS of Wirral [2]
 * The Soldier in Later Medieval England [3]
 * Surnames of England & Wales in 2002, ONS data [4]