• Home
    • About the Guild
    • About one-name studies
    • Starting your ONS
    • Conducting ONS (videos)
    • Join Us
    • Guild Shop
  • Studies
    • Surnames A-Z
    • Recent Registrations
    • Study websites
    • Available Studies
    • Registered Societies
  • News
    • General News
    • Education News
    • Guild Public Newsletters
  • Forums
    • Facebook (public page)
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Conference
    • Seminar events
    • Guild Webinars
  • Resources
    • DNA
    • Fun Zone
    • Guild Indexes
    • Guild Journal
    • Knowledge Zone – Presentations
    • Members’ Websites
    • Modern Surnames
    • Newspaper Index
    • Pharos ONS Courses
    • Speakers
    • Those Who Served
  • Help
    • Reset your password
    • Contact Us
  • Log In

Guild of One-Name Studies

One-name studies, Genealogy

Is your surname here?

    • 2,143 members
    • 2,063 studies
    • 7,338 surnames

Cruttenden One-Name Study

Page Views: 2,599

Study details

Study: Cruttenden   

Variants: Crettenden, Crittenden, Crittendon, Crottenden, Croytenden, Cruttendon

Category:  3 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way on a global basis.

Contact: Mr Ian Cruttenden


About the study

To collect as many references to the Cruttenden name, and its derivatives, as possible from the major resources available.

With the information gathered to link the individual to their own family.

Variant names

The Cruttenden name has a number of recognised variants: Crittenden, Critenden, Crittendon, Critendon, Crittenton and Crettenden.

There are also a number of variants in resources that are no doubt simple mis-spellings or poor handwriting.

Name origin

'A Dictionary of British Surnames' by Reany, Routeledge, Keegan, Paul, 1958. has this to say about the Cruttenden name:

Cruttenden - William Crotynden 1451 PAT (K) A Kent and Sussex name from a lost place Cruttenden in Headcorn (Kent). Pat Calender of Patent Rolls (in progress).

English Placename Society Vol 25 - English Placename Elements has this to say about the derivation of place name endings:

denn - woodland pasture, Old English, Kent dialect.

Thus originally there might have been a fellow by the name of 'Crutte' who kept his pigs in a clearing in the wood (den). Later when surnames were developing a resident from nearby this woodland pasture who went to live elsewhere may have been known as 'Cruttenden'.

There is another theory that the original place name was derived from a cross in a valley. Local Old English crucdenu 'Valley with a cross' Kent 15th cent.

I am not convinced that the Cruttenden name is in any way connected with the Druids. In pre-Christian Celtic society they formed an intellectual class. The earliest Classical references to Druids date to the 2nd century B.C.

From the late 15th century there is no doubt that the origin of the Cruttenden name is firmly based in the south-east of England around the borders of Kent and Sussex. That is in one of the first areas of the British Isles to be colonised by the Anglo-Saxons from the 4th century AD onwards. Previous to this there had been over 400 years of Roman rule.

Another theory of origin concerns the clan system in Scotland. As there is no evidence of the use of the Cruttenden surname in Scotland before the arrival of Cruttendens from Kent/Sussex in the mid 19th century this theory must also be discounted.

Links

A large part of my research can be found on my website (see above), including a number of individual biographies.

This is not the full extent of all the material I hold. In particular the reconstructed families. Please feel free to contact me via my e-mail address recorded below.

Contact Details

Mr Ian Cruttenden

General Search Results

Occurrences of the surname Cruttenden in the Guild Indexes
(Click on the number to view the search results in each index. Indexes marked by * are only accessible by logged in Guild members.)
  • Global Marriages (public)  155
  • Global Marriages (members)* 157
  • Inscriptions Index  1
  • Modern Newspaper Index  1
  • Probate Index* 37
  • Datastores (public)  1
  • Datastores (members)* 1

Other Guild Websites

You may find our other Guild websites of interest:

  • Members’ Websites Program
  • Guild Members’ records on FamilySearch
  • Guild’s “Surname Cloud”
  • Guild Marriage Locator

Contact Us

Email: Guild General Contact
Postal address:
c/o Treasurer,
3 Windsor Gardens,
Herne Bay,
Kent, CT6 8FE. UK.
Call us free on:
UK: 0800 011 2182
US & Canada: 1-800-647-4100
Australia: 1800 305 184

Follow Us


  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • YouTube

Guild of One-Name Studies Policies:    Privacy   CIO Membership and Registration Conditions   Sales   COVID-19 Impact

© 2013–2026 Guild of One-Name Studies CIO. Registered Charity in England and Wales, No. 1197944.