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YOUDS - the surname, variants, origin, distribution, emigrants etc.

YOUDS - the surname, variants, origin, distribution, emigrants etc.

Posted: 6 Nov 2012 5:25PM GMT
Classification: Biography
Edited: 7 Nov 2012 1:30PM GMT
Surnames: Youds
A few facts from my research of the YOUDS surname since 2006, the article is also available on wikipedia.
Karl L Held
Liverpool, UK
http://wc.rootsweb.com/~kh3


YOUDS is an English surname originally from the Wirral peninsula, historically part of Cheshire.The name must not be confused with the similar sounding YOUD surname. The earliest record dates from 1434 and in 1588 the name appears in Bebington, Wirral.

Origin of the name
Currently little is known about the meaning or origin of this unusual and rare surname, it is not listed in any books of British surnames. Viking roots are a likely possibility as the Wirral peninsula was colonised by Norwegian Vikings from 902 AD onwards. It is hoped that DNA profiling from suitable YOUDS descendants will prove or disprove this theory.


Early records
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be John EUDDES in 1434,an English soldier stationed in Vire garrison in Normandy. He is listed as a man-at-arms on a muster roll from the Hundred Years' War with France.

The surname next appears in 1588 recording the marriage of Richardus YOLDES & Margareta Collye in Bebington, St. Andrew's. Church records there start in 1558.

For the next 180 years the YOUDS name is only found in Wirral villages such as Bidston, Greasby, Hoose, West Kirby etc. From around 1770 the name starts to appear also in Liverpool.

Some 16 variants of the surname were recorded in the 16th and 17th century: Yewds, Yewdes, Yuedes, Yeuds, Yeudes, Yowds, Yauds, Eudes, Euddes, Eaudes, Ewds, Ewdes, Ewdds, Youlds, Yoldes, Hewds etc. Today only YOUDS is still in use.


Distribution of the name
According to the Office of National Statistics some 445 people named YOUDS lived in England & Wales in 2002.

The YOUDS surname has spread to other parts of the British Isles and through emigration also to USA, Canada, and Australia. Key emigrants of interest to family historians are:

Thomas Youds (born 1855) Australia

William Youds (born 1881 Toxteth) 1925 to Vancouver

Charles John Youds (born 1875 Chorlton) 1929 to British Columbia

Cyril Keith Youds (born 1924 Liverpool) California


People with surname Youds
George Youds (1872-1937), early English football player
Jack Youds (1878-1939), English golf professional, golf club maker
Robert Youds (1954-), Canadian sculptor
Eddie Youds (1970-), English football player, retired


References
[1]
YOUD of Cheshire & YOUDS of Wirral
The Soldier in Later Medieval England
Surnames of England & Wales in 2002, ONS data

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