A one-name study

The Chedgzoy & Chedzoy Name

One of Britain's rarest surnames, documented in full: its Anglo-Saxon roots in the Somerset village of Chedzoy, a family tree traced back to 1663, and a sourced register of every Chedgzoy and Chedzoy I can find, anywhere in the world.

Search the register Explore the family tree The story of the name

1,800+ people recorded• traced to 1663• every spelling: Chedgzoy, Chedzoy, Chedsey

Fewer than about 450 people carry the name worldwide today, roughly 115 as Chedgzoy and 320 as Chedzoy, which makes it genuinely rare. This site sets out to be the definitive record of it: who the Chedgzoys and Chedzoys were, where they came from, how the spellings split, and how everyone connects. Every fact is sourced, so you can always see where it came from.

The Register

Search every Chedgzoy and Chedzoy on record, from Somerset parish baptisms in the 1600s to the present day. Each person on their own sourced page.

Search the register →

The Family Tree

Explore the line generation by generation, from Robert Chedzoy in the 1660s onward, or take in the whole connected tree on one zoomable map.

Open the tree →

The Name's History

Where the name comes from, how to say it, the spelling variants, and the family's part in the 1685 Monmouth Rebellion.

Read the history →

A few of the people

The lives behind the name. Family history home →

Sam Chedgzoy

The Everton and England winger who, in 1924, exploited a loophole in the corner-kick law and forced the rule to be rewritten. Later a star in North America.

The Whole-Tree Map

Every connected person on one zoomable page, as a fan chart or a tidy tree. See how far the family has spread, then click any name to open them.

Around the world

The records reach well beyond Somerset: WWI casualties remembered in France, and emigrant families who settled in Canada, the USA and Australia.

Also here: free tools

Aside from the family history, I build free browser-based tools. See all tools →

SEO Audit

Scored on-page SEO report across 25 checks, with a ready-to-paste AI prompt to fix the issues.

Image Optimiser

Convert images to AVIF, WebP, JPEG and PNG, compare sizes, and download with picture-element HTML.

eBay Fee Calculator

UK 2026 rates. Final value, per-order, international and promoted fees, and your net profit in seconds.

From the blog

Notes on the name, the research, and the tools. All posts →

31 May 2026 · 46 min read

The Brothers of Chedzoy

A Roots-style historical novella: two brothers of a Somerset Levels family, the Chedzoys of Stoke St Gregory, named long ago for the village of Chedzoy, join the 1685 Monmouth Rebellion, and only one survives Sedgemoor, the Bloody Assizes and transportation to Jamaica. Based on the real Edward Chedsey.

31 May 2026 · 2 min read

eBay Seller Fees Explained (UK 2026): What You Actually Keep

What you really keep when you sell on eBay UK in 2026: the final value fee, the fixed per-order fee, how Top Rated status and a Shop change things, and why your profit is lower than the sale price.

31 May 2026 · 2 min read

QR Codes With a Logo: How to Make One That Still Scans

Adding a logo to a QR code can stop it scanning if you do it wrong. How error correction works, how big the logo can safely be, and how to make a branded QR code that reads every time.

Behind the name

I'm Chris Chedgzoy, a semi-retired programmer and systems architect of 46+ years. The Chedgzoy name is mine, and documenting it properly, every person, every source, is the project. I also build free browser-based tools, which live in the toolkit.

More about Chris Chedgzoy →

Are you a Chedgzoy?

If you carry the Chedgzoy or Chedzoy name, or you have records, photos or a branch I am missing, I would love to hear from you. You can add your line on the register or get in touch directly.

Get in touch