16,214 Global Stoddard Family Members

Stoddard Family History

This very and interesting surname is of Northern Olde English pre 9th century origins. It was originally an occupational descriptive word for a breeder or keeper of warhorses, and perhaps not surprisingly the surname is recorded in a number of alternative spellings. The derivation is from 'stod', meaning a studfarm, plus as a suffix a shortened form of 'hierde', the herdsman. The popularity of horsemanship in Britain dates back to pre-Roman times, but surprisingly the later Vikings, who were as renowned (or feared) as horsemen as much as sea warriors, seem to have been most responsible for the endless pre-occupation of the British with horses.