2,325 Global CHITTENDEN Family Members

CHITTENDEN Family History

This unusual and interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational surname deriving from the place called Chittenden in Kent. The placename means "Citta's pasture", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Citta", a byname derived from "cith", shoot, sprout, with "denn", a pasture, especially a swine-pasture. "Denn" is often found as the second element of placenames in the Kent and Sussex Weald district, usually denoting an old pasture. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace.