Message: "Re: Biden" - Behind the Name

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Re: Biden

by Marc (picard)

8/28/2008, 10:19 AM

Biden is definitely an English name but its etymology is not obvious. It would seem to be a variant of Bidden which was recorded as de Bydun and de Bidon in the 12th century, and Bidun in the 13th, all of which mean 'by (the) down'.

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- Jenna (Jenna R) +2

8/28/2008, 1:34 PM

Thanks for your help. Does the "de" suggest that Biden has a Norman root? Or was "de" added to most surnames in England, regardless of the individual name's history? "Down" as in a grassy knoll, evolved from an Old English word rooted in Old Dutch and Low German.

- Marc (picard) +1

8/28/2008, 2:23 PM

The 'de' in question simply means 'from' such and such a place, and shows up before many names that are Anglo-Saxon in origin. Down is from Old English dun 'hill' which has cognates in other Germanic languages.

- Jenna (Jenna R)

9/3/2008, 8:13 AM

Thanks for your help!

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