Hedden
Probably a surname that began as a place-name, especially for someone from Headon or Hedon in England.
The #8,844 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,355 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation treats Hedden as a locational surname, a variant form of names like Heading, Headen, or Headon. In this view, it would have identified someone who came from a place called Headon or Hedon, both medieval English place-names. The place-name element is likely Old English in origin, though the exact local form behind Hedden is not entirely certain.
History
Bardsley’s surname notes connect Hedden with a cluster of similar spellings under the same locational family, and the form appears as a variant in later surname lists as well. The name is comparatively uncommon today, which fits a surname that likely spread from one or more small local origins rather than from a single famous family line. Some continental surname lists also show Hedden as a family-name form, but those references do not clearly change the main English explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval bearer recorded by Bardsley, Gerard de Hedon, shows the surname’s place-based style very early on.
From the historical record
“bamX 3 ; Crockford, 3. Heading, Hedding, Hedden, Headen, Headon.— Local, 'of Headon ' or ' Hedon/ parishes in diocs. Southwell and York. Gerard de Hedon, co. Notts, M73. A.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)