Kildahl - Name

Recorded in an extraordinary number of spellings as showbelow, this is an English locational surname. It originates from the village of Kildale near the small town of Guisborough, in North Yorkshire. Kildale is first recorded as Childale in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, and the name translates as the narrow valley. As to why such a relatively simple place name should have been the origin of such a widely spelt and variable surname is unclear, however it is likely that in the late Middle Ages the village was "diminished" when the area became famous for its sheep farming. This change in the industry required fewer workers, and as a result many of the inhabitants would have had to leave the area to seek work. When this happened they often took, or were given, as their surnamre, the name of their former home. Spelling being at best indifferent and local dialects very thick, lead to the creation of "sounds like" spellings. In this case the name found its way to London, where the registers as collated by the famous International Genealogical Index record the spellings as Kildale, Killdale, Killdahl, Keldell, Killdall, Kiledal, Kildill, and possibly others. The first recordings of the name may be that of Jone Kildale who married Anthony Dale at Tottenham, on June 30th 1588.