While there may be some truth that at times I am the Chit en Den (pronounced with an 'sh' instead of 'ch') who will always try to tell the truth even it if goes against the beliefs of the other members of the Den and my own well being, it is probably pure speculation that Chittenden was derived from a clan of people who where known for their truth, honesty, and respect for justice. But then again, who knows.
Once upon a time, there was a town called Den who was ruled by a King named Bill. Prince Al, the town bully who is also son of the town's king, slops down the main street, taking whatever he may from local shop keepers and bringing it back to the castle for the king and his followers to use and play with. Few openly speak up against this abuse for fear of offending the king and bring his rath down on them. However, Al's actions are becoming a larger and larger problem as the number of 'followers' in the castle living off the stolen goods from the town's people is growing and growing and the number of people and rewards of doing productive work is getting smaller and smaller.
A group of shop keepers get together in secret to deal with this problem by bringing it to the attention of the king. The cry goes up, where is the Chit en Den who will face up to the king and tell the people the truth? Ferd, stands up and raises his hand "I will do this task of telling the truth" -- a family name is born...
Ferd takes the complains of the people and requests an audience with the king. The King hears the complains and bellows, "who is this Chit en Den who dares to come before me and tell the truth about my family and ways?". And has him summarily beheaded on the spot.
Is it any wonder why there are so few Chit En Dens around these days? Perhaps this explains why the Chittendens were among the first people to populate Jolly old England as well as some of the first people to come to America? Who knows?
Such is the nature of mythology.