The surname of AINDOW was a baptismal name 'the son of Andre' a favourite 13th century font name. It has many variant spellings which include Aindree, Andrea and Ainder. This surname was originally derived from the Greek Andreas, a name meaning manly. It was the name of the first of Jesus Christ's disciples, which is known in various local forms throughout Christendom. The disciple is the patron saint of Scotland and there is a legend that his relics were brought to Scotland in the 4th century by a certain St. Regulus. He is also the patron saint of Russia. The name was popular in Eastern Europe and in Poland. The Norman Conquest in the year of 1066 revolutionized our personal nomenclature. The old English name system was gradually broken up and old English names became less common and were replaced by new names from the continent. Most of the early documents deal with the upper classes who realised that an additional name added prestige and practical advantage to their status. Names of peasants rarely occurred in medieval documents. The name was probably brought to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066. Early records of the name mention Joseph Andree, 1229, Canterbury. John Andres was documented in the year 1326 in County Lancashire and Edwin Aindowe of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. When the coast of England was invaded by William The Conqueror in the year 1066, the Normans brought with them a store of French personal names, which soon, more or less, entirely replaced the traditional more varied Old English personal names, at least among the upper and middle classes. A century of so later, given names of the principal saints of the Christian church began to be used. It is from these two types of given name that the majority of the English patronymic surnames are derived and used to this day. Later instances of the name include Thomas Andreu who was the vicar of Briston in County Norfolk, in the year 1442. Malcolm Andree was a tenant of the bishop of Aberdeen in 1511. Thomas Fuller and Elizabeth Andrewes were married in London in the year 1619. The nobles and the upper classes were first to realise the prestige of a second name, but it was not until the 15th century that most people had acquired a second name.