Family name origins & meanings
- English : possibly a habitational name from Clayhidon in Devon (recorded as Hidon, Hydon up to the end of the 15th century), which was originally named from Old English hīeg ‘hay’ + dūn ‘hill’, or from any of the places named Iden (see Iden), of which there are two examples in Kent and one in East Sussex. In medieval records these all occur with the spelling Hiden or Hyden.
- German : unexplained.
- Altered spelling of German Heiden.
- Dutch (van der Hyden) : topographic name for a moorland dweller (see Heide 2).