GENERAL GARDINER BACKGROUND
The one outstanding distinction of the Eleventh Century in English History, outside the coming of the Normans in 1066, was the introduction into the country of surnames. Before the Tenth Century people in all lands had but a single name. During the Tenth Century the custom of giving people a second name began in France. With the coming of the Conqueror the custom was introduced into England. Such names were first officially recognized in 1267 A.D. We are told that by the end of the Thirteenth Century single names were almost unknown there. During this comparatively brief period when custom demanded that a surname be found for everyone, these distinctive names were chosen chiefly from four classes viz:- characteristic names - Strong; local - Hill; genealogical - Williamson and occupational - Cooper. The name Gardiner belongs to the occupational classification. It is a familiar entry in every Medieval record.
The surname Gardiner can be traced to the Old Norman French "gardinier" meaning a "gardener" and denotes one who was a cultivator of edible produce in an orchard or kitchen garden, rather than to a tender of ornamental lawns and flower beds. Geoffrey le Gardiner is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273 and Richard le Gardiner is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in the same year. Walter Gardiner, a fruiterer, is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of London in 1292.
(From: The Historical Research Center)
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