Durden
Usually explained as a nickname surname, originally referring to a “hard tooth” or other hard-featured person, though some evidence also points to a local-place origin.
The #5,014 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,062 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Older surname dictionaries most often connect Durden with Old French elements meaning “hard tooth,” from a form like Duredent. That would make it a descriptive nickname, probably for someone with a hard bite, a prominent tooth, or a tough, stubborn character. Some writers also suggest it may have been influenced by, or confused with, a local surname from Dearden/Duerden in Lancashire, so the origin is not completely settled.
History
The name appears in medieval and early modern records in forms such as Durden, Duredent, and Durdent. By the 19th century, scholars were already debating whether the surname was mainly a nickname form or a local name altered over time. The modern English surname Durden is not very common, but it has survived in Britain and especially in English-speaking countries such as the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly compared the name to other vivid medieval nickname surnames, treating it as part of a small group of “hard” or “iron” style bynames.
From the historical record
“London, 14, i, 4, 3 ; Pbiiadelpfaia, 5, Dearden, Durden.— Local, ' of Dearden,' or 'Ducrrten,' or ' Dur- den.' The precise spot seems to be Dearden, near EdenGcld, Bury, CO. Lane. The surname clung for a long time to the immediate dis-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances