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PERRODIN/PERRAUDIN/PARADINE
There are many clues that suggest the Paradine surname originated in Europe. Paradine is a possible variant of surnames such as Paridaans, Paridaens, and Pardaens found today in the Low Countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark—names that may trace their roots 500 miles south to the Franco-Provençal region around Lake Geneva. This region coincides with the footprint of the now displaced Franco-Provençal language, a Romance dialect once thriving between French and Italian spheres, and geographically aligns with the former Duchy of Burgundy and the counties of Savoy and Geneva.
In this region, related surnames like Perraudin, Perrodin, and Paradin are documented as older than their Dutch counterparts. Perraudin and Perrodin are found today in the former regions of Savoy as well as throughout Switzerland and France. Meanwhile, Paradin is the surname of a Burgundian family of notable authors and religious figures that rose to some level of fame during the late middle ages but has since disappeared in France.
The English surname Paradine may trace its origins to an immigrant from the Low Countries or France bearing the surname or a close variant. One intriguing possibility detailed in Chapter IV is William Paradyn of Brabant who is first recorded in England as Peryndyn in 1433 and then Paradyn in 1436, illustrating a possible evolution that ended in Paradine. The Paradin surname of Burgundy explored later in this chapter also likely evolved from more common variants such as Perraudin and Perrodin.
The broader family of variants seem to have an epicenter around Lake Geneva in the Franco-Provencial region and a clear origin from the nickname Perrod. In the region, Perrod was a common hypocoristic form (informal/familiar) of the name Pierre, which is the French form of the Latin Petrus (Peter) meaning "rock" or "stone". There are several instances of the name Perrod being Latanized in medieval text as Perrodus.
In some cases, the nickname Perrod may have stuck with some individuals and even combined in subsequent generations with the diminutive suffix “-in” which in Franco-Provincial means ‘little’. This would especially be common within father/son naming dynamics. Therefore there may have been several individuals carrying the nickname Perrodin, Perraudin, Perroudin, which in Latin documents would have been Perrodinus, Perroudinus, etc. Geographically, the “-in” suffix serves as a diminutive most consistently in the Franco-Provençal, Occitan, and Italian (via -ino) languages, with some regional use in French. Whereas the medieval Low Countries and Northern Burgundy preferred Middle Dutch and its naming conventions. This helps to pinpoint the origins of the nickname Perrodin and eventually the adoption of several variants as surnames that continue into the modern era.
In the West, surnames arose in the late middle ages from a variety of sources such as hometowns, occupations, patronymic titles (son of), and also from nicknames that distinguished people (hypocoristic). Any hope of tracing the paternal lines of Paradin or Paradine beyond the 12th and 13th centuries would not rely on surnames. While the practice existed in Roman times, family names disappeared during the 5th to 10th centuries. During this time, people mostly went by single names, like Perrodus, Johannes, or Jaquemetus. From the 11th to the 15th century, individuals would often adopt a nickname attached to their first name. During this timeframe, the nickname began to be passed down from generation to generation.
Early evidence of Perrod and Perrodin as a nickname, and eventually a surname can be found in several valleys around Lake Geneva. Research into the surname by Anouk Crozzoli in his Origin Et Formation Des Patronymes Aperçu Bagnard suggested that the Bagnes Valley running southwest from Lake Geneva, was home to many hypocoristic variants of Pierre that led to the formation of surnames such as Perin (1354-1597), Perni (1309-1330), Perron (from 1315), Perronet (1309-1399), Perrodi (1379-1543), and Perraudin (from 1437).
Why a Study?
The English surname Paradine is rare enough to potentially establish a genetic relationship between all those bearing the name today. In fact, there is a great deal of genealogical evidence that suggests this is the case. That being said, it is certainly possible that the name Paradine emerged separately in several different areas as discussed in some of our documentation. Going further, variants of the surname may have emerged from a "place name" or location on Continental Europe. The purpose of this group is to use yDNA to determine if/how each branch of the Paradine is connected, understand how and when the name came to England, and to solve the burning questions that have been puzzling researchers (some of them no longer with us).
Feel free to join the discussion at our Paradine Family History Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Paradine
Possible Paradine variants: Paradis, Paradice, Paladine Paradise, Paladie, Pallady, Paradin, Paradyn
Possible Paradine origins: England, France, Belgium
How Can You Help?
If you are a male with the Paradine surname (or one listed in the variants above) click the following link to learn how you can get a yDNA test and join this project. Find out where you fit in the Global Paradine tree and help us to continue to validate our theory. If you are a female member of the Paradine family whether through marriage or birth, you can help by encouraging your father, husband, brother, or son to get a yDNA test and join the project. This will allow you both to see where you fit in the puzzle!
Click here for instructions on how you can join the project!
RESEARCH BASIS
A theory has been constructed based on a genealogical best effort to compile most Paradine families into one Global Tree. In some situations, deduction, process of elimination, and a location analysis was used to compliment gaps in paper evidence. This allowed for a potential answer to many of the questions outlined above. A book was written analyzing this information and laying out the foundation of the main goal of this yDNA project, where are the Paradines from, what was their lives like, and how are those of us today still connected? Several chapters of the book can be downloaded below as well as research charts.
Additionally, an attempt to catalogue and trace the various variants of the surname found on the European continent is also underway. If you believe your surname is connected to the etymology listed above, this group is for you!
Paradine Origin & Genealogy
I have written a book based off of my research into my own surname, Paradine, but it contains a wealth of information regarding variants in the first several chapters.
Theoretical Migration Chart
Bedford Family Trees: 1 2 3 4
Buckinghamshire Family Trees: 1 2 3
Chapter I: Where to Begin?
Chapter IV: The Paradines of Bedford
Chapter V: Brewers and Mayors
Chapter VI: Baymakers of Colchester
Chapter VII: Into Ireland
Chapter X: Blacksmiths and Carmen
Chapter XI: Farming the Vale
Chapter XII: In Islington
Interactive Paradine Migration Map
If Google frame does not display below please click HERE to view.
The global tree along with supporting primary documents can be viewed on ancestry.com (with a subscription) by clicking here.
If you do not have an ancestry.com subscription, a Gedcom file can be downloaded by clicking here (updated 1/5/18)