Carden One-Name Study

Carden
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Carden One-Name Study
Variants
Origin of the surname
Historical occurrences
Frequency of the name
Distribution of the name
DNA project
Links
Contact Details

About the Carden One-Name Study

My hobby is attempting to place everyone I come across called CARDEN within their place in our family history, and compiling booklets about each of the branches of the family. So far I have compiled about 40 such booklets and three books, which I hope are valued by those concerned and will be of interest to future generations. Wherever possible they contain a mini-biography and sometimes a photograph of each individual and are based on a mixture of research, hearsay and family tradition, usually properly distinguished from each other! They are available to all who request copies, but there is no plan to publish them on the internet. CARDEN OF BARNANE (2004 - see link below), CARDEN OF EAST KENT and CARDEN OF TONBRIDGE are available from me, and the last two can also be obtained from www.lulu.com where details of these books can be found.

In September 2008 it is hoped that a Carden Gathering will be held in Brighton, on the tenth anniversary of the one held in Cheshire in 1998. For details see my current blog at the address given under 'Links.'

This web site has been produced using an excellent facility provided by the Guild of One-Name Studies.

Variants

CAWARDEN (thought to have been pronounced 'carden') was the normal spelling until about 1600. Sir Thomas CAWARDEN of Bletchingley (c.1514–1559) often used the name CARDEN. A very similar coat of arms was used by CARWARDINE of Hereford, but the connection has not been traced. CALLADINE, CARRADINE, CANNADINE, KENNADINE, KENDERDINE and similar names are also likely to be genuine variants with origins in Cheshire. CARDIN is used by the descendants of the Cardens of Lewes, Sussex and CARDING by the Matlock branch. CARDAN, CARDON, etc and in one case KERWIN are other known spelling variations.

Origin of the surname

DNA and paper evidence suggest that most Cardens, including the Tipperary branches to which I belong, descend from an ancient Cheshire family located at a place named in Old English Carr Wordign meaning a rocky enclosure. The Old English name suggests that there was a settlement of that name before 1066, and Ormerod, the Cheshire historian, tells us at some point before the reign of Henry II (before 1216) a family assumed the local name Carden. Other Cardens appear to have origins either in Essex (perhaps descendants of a Cardon - based on the French word for thistle - in the Domesday Book), or in County Sligo in western Ireland where they existed before the Tipperary Cardens arrived from Cheshire.

The CARDIN name is common in France and has a Breton origin. DNA information suggests there is no connection with Cardens or Cardins from England.

Historical occurrences

The church at Mavesyn Ridware in Staffordshire contains many elaborate Cawarden tombs and hatchments. Carden Hall near Malpas in Cheshire, which burned in 1912, was built by the LECHE family which intermarried with CARDEN, on the site of the early Carden lands. A great deal of information is to be found in Ormerod's 'Cheshire' and Shaw's 'Staffordshire'.

The following appear in the Oxford DNB

Carden, George Frederick (1798–1874), barrister and cemetery founder.

Carden, Sir John Valentine, sixth baronet (1892–1935), engineer.

Carden, Sir Lionel Edward Gresley (1851–1915), diplomatist

Carden, Sir Robert Walter, first baronet (1801–1888), banker and politician.

Carden, Sir Sackville Hamilton (1857–1930), naval officer.

Cawarden, Sir Thomas (c.1514–1559), courtier (also known as Carden, Sir Thomas).

John Rutter Carden (1811-1866) was notorious for his attempted abduction of Eleanor Arbuthnot in Tipperary.

Admiral John Surman Carden (1771-1858) is best known for the fact that when in command of HMS Macedonian he surrendered to the American frigate USS United States in 1812.

Many officers named Carden fought in the American Revolutionary War, notably at Hanging Rock and Quebec.

Sir Herbert Carden (1867-1941) was known as 'the father of modern Brighton'

Frequency of the name

According to http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/freqnames.html there are about 85,000 people with the CARDEN name in USA.

The Office of National Statistics database in September 2002 showed the following numbers of individuals in Great Britain - 1627 named CARDEN (ranks 4417th out of 270,000 surnames), 210 named CARDING, 111 named CARDIN and 72 named CARDON.

Distribution of the name

Probably a high proportion of Cardens in the USA are descendants of Catholic famine emigrants from Mayo and Sligo. Many Protestant Cardens in USA have been shown by DNA evidence to be descended from Cheshire origins, but few have traced the exact connection.

Most Cardens in Australia, New Zealand and some in Canada have proven connections to English or Tipperary branches.

DNA project

There are over 60 participants in the CARDEN DNA PROJECT, with Carden or variant surnames. A link to a report on the project appears below.

Links

Details of my book 'Carden of Barnane': http://uk.geocities.com/the_boggyb/cardenbook.htm

Details of the Carden DNA project: http://www.lightpatch.com/genealogy/cardendnaproject/

Carden Family Web site maintained by Trish Carden (mostly USA; contains many links) http://www.tcarden.com/tree/ensor/Carden1.html

CARDEN Mailing List http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/surname/c/carden.html

My Carden family history blog: originally http://arthur-carden.livejournal.com/ but amended to http://cardenhistory.blogspot.com/ in early 2007

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mr Arthur E Carden
5 Parkfield,
Horsham,
West Sussex
RH12 2BG
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:

This page last updated 25 February 2008.