The Hendey Name

THE HENDEY SURNAME

The Hendey surname is one of the most ancient names that came from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person with a mild temperament.

The surname actually derives from the Old English word “hendy” meaning courteous, kind and gentle. In time, the word came to be used as a person’s name.

The name appears in many ancient manuscripts such as:

• the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086 AD at the command of William the Conqueror;
• the Ragman Rolls (1291-1296), a record of homage paid to King Edward I of England;
• the Curia Regis Rolls (1196-1215), records of the King’s Court;
• the Pipe Rolls (1130-1833), a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or Treasury;
• the Hearth Rolls (the Hearth Tax was a property tax levied during the medieval period levied on each hearth or family unit);
• Parish Registers, Baptismals, Tax and other records.

The first to appear in written records was William Hendy who was Lord of the Manor and estates in Surrey in 1198.

The family branched north to Norfolk where brothers Thomas and John Hendy settled and by the 14^th Century the name could be found in Yorkshire.

In 1391 John Hendy became Lord Mayor of London.

The name was recorded in the writings of Chaucer (1342-1400) who wrote: “Sire, ye should be Hendy and Curteis.”

Over the years the name (like many others) has undergone a number of spelling interpretations, many of which are still in use today (Hendy, Henday, Hendey, Hendley) and sometimes these varied between father and son.

Many spelling variations even occur in records referring to the same person, as Church officials or scriveners spelt the name as it was told to them, phonetically.

Contemporary notables bearing this name or one of its variants include:

• Sir Phillip Hendy, British Art Historian;
• George Hendy, QC, Canadian lawyer; and
• Mike Hendy, Ph.D., New Zealand Professor of mathematical Biology at Massey University.