Local 'of Creed,' a parish in Cornwall, (a) Bapt. 'the son of Creed.' Crede is manifestly a personal name in the Hundred Rolls in districts far removed from Cornwall. It occurs in every case without a prefix, in itself an argument in favour of a fontal origin. No doubt it means creed, i.e. belief, answering to faith, so familiar as a girl's name later on.

Henry Crede, vicar of Homing, Norfolk, 1381: History of Norfolk.

John Creyde, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Alan Crede, Suffolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Mabilia Crede, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Roger Crede, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

1577. Anthony Creede, Hertfordshire, and Johanna King, widow: Marriage Lic. (London).

1665. Married — William Creed and Margery Nein: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1731. — Charles Creed and Mary Gilbert: St. George, Hanover Square.

Creedon, a west Cork name, is now called Ó Criodáin in Irish (e.g. Tomas Ó Criadáin, the nineteenth century Gaelic scribe) but formerly and properly it was Mac Criodáin. It appears in the late sixteenth century Fiants dealing with Counties Cork and Tipperary as MacCredan and MacCridan, and in 1564 in the person of Donagh MacCrydon of Swynome, Co. Tipperary, harper. The O prefix was occasionally used even in the sixteenth century, at least by the clerks who compiled the official records as this same man appears in a later Fiant of 1582 as O'Kredane. Creedon has been abbreviated to Creed to a considerable extent-even as early as 1659 when Francis Creed was a “titulado” in the parish of Kilquan, Co. Limerick. About that time the name occurs as MacCreed in the Irish army lists preserved in the Ormond manuscripts. Both Creed and Creedon appear in the marriage licence bonds of the dioceses of Cork, Ross and Cloyne from 1682 and among the names of larger landowners in Co. Cork in 1878.

In 1866 there were 40 Creedon, Creedan and Creeden births registered (37 in Co. Cork) while Creed was only 8; the figures for 1890 were Creedon 15 (all Co. Cork or near) Creed 9 (5 Co. Cork). The current telephone directory lists 33 Creedons and 14 Creeds. In the Macroom districts, where these names are most numerous, cases have been recorded of their synonymous use by one family in registering births.

(English) the Anglo-Saxon pers. name Cre(ó)da, perh. of post-christian origin and from Old English créda, m., ‘the creed' [Latin credo, I believe] Roger Crede.—Hundred Rolls

Properly Mac Críodain, changed to Ó Críodain in modern times. Creed is an abbreviation of Creedon. Both are Co. Cork names. SIF 43

A parish in Cornwall.

A location name in Cornwall.

The Creeds now have their home in the Glastonbury district. A family of this name resided at Castle Cary last century: John Creed, who died in 1740, was vicar of that parish for fifty years; Cary Creed, gent., died there in 1751, at the age of 88 (P.). The name is still in Castle Cary. The Creeds are also established in Dorsetshire, and they were numerous in Gloucestershire. Creed is a parish in Cornwall.