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Our Surnames R
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RACE.
Either from an old personal name, or perhaps a nickname for
clean-shaven (old French ras).
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RAILTON. Thought to be from a vanished place-name.
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RAIN, RAINE, RAINES,
RAINS, RAYN, RAYNE. Norman French, shortened form of Reynard or Reinaud.
Certainly appeared up in the NE with Robert son of William the Conqueror
when he came to build Newcastle. RAINEs
were the foresters at Marwood Hagg nr Barnard Castle.
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RAISBECK. From the place-name near Tebay, Cumbria. (Landranger Sheet 91, NY
646075)
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RAMSEY. From one of two place-names, in Essex and Huntingdon (Now Cambridgeshire
– it lies 8 miles N of Huntingdon) The Scottish RAMSEYs are said to come from
the latter, so we can assume that some dropped off in the North Pennines on
their way.
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RANAGHAN. May be derived from the townland "Raithneachan"
a place of ferns or bracken. Another similar name is RANAHAN, probably the same
only pronounced differently. Our RANAGHANs came from Co. Down, probably because
of the potato famine and settled in Thornley, Easington. Earliest name on file
is Michael RANAGHAN, born 1763.
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RANKIN.
A diminutive of RANDOLPH. This is an Old Norse or Germanic name, which probably
came to England with the Normans and had two sources, phonetically very similar.
Either Rannulfr, “Shield-wolf” or Rannulf,
“Raven-wolf”. They both sound pretty fierce to me.
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RAPER. Synonymous with ROPER, a rope maker and a typical Northern variant
spelling. (cf. BANE for BONE)
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RAEBURN, RAYBURN, RYBURN. From the old lands of Ryburn in the parish of Dunlop,
Ayrshire. (Landranger Sheet 64, Grid Ref. NS410494) Our RAYBURNs were farmers
at Whitburn having come from of Musselburgh.(map)
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RAWLINSON. A name with a particular association with Furness, where it is
thought to be Rowland’s son. Ro(w)land was the hero of an epic poem from the
time of Charlemagne so the given name became popular throughout the Middle Ages.
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READHEAD, REDHEAD. A literal description of the name’s originator.
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READSHAW, REDSHAW. From Redshaw Hall and Gill, near Blubberhouses in W Yorkshire
(Landranger Sheet 104, Grid Ref. SE155567)
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REAVELEY, REVELEY. A dweller on the Reeve’s land, perhaps.
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REAY. Probably the same as RAY and RAYE. In a Northern context, possibly dialect
for roe, hence a deer-herd or hunter. It could also be from Old French rei,
“king”, as a nickname or from the part in a play or pageant.
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REED, READ, REDE. The name was most likely given to a red-haired person,
although there is a place-name in Lancashire, five miles west of Burnley. It
might also mean a dweller in a clearing (Old English rŷd,
which also gives the surname, RIDE)
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REEVELL. The rebel!
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Reivers. Many of the names on our research list (and others) are
associated with the Reivers. While these peculiarly Border tribes have a largely
justified bad name, when seen in the context of their time and geography, maybe
their fierce behaviour is understandable. Certainly they existed in bloodthirsty
times, when the English and Scottish aristocracy were not noted for their humane
principles! Try www.reivers.com
or http://home.btclick.com/testoff/ for a
splendid introduction to the subject, and more about the names listed below:
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ARCHBOLD, ARMSTRONG, BEATTIE,
BELL, BURNS, CARLETON, CARLISLE, CARNABY, CARRS, CARRUTHERS, CHAMBERLAIN,
CHARLTON, COLLINGWOOD, CRISP, CROZIER, CUTHBERT, DACRE, DAVISON, DIXON, DODD,
DOUGLAS, DUNNE, ELLIOT, FENWICK, FORSTER, GRAHAM (GRAEME), GRAY, HALL, HEDLEY,
HENDERSON, HERON, HETHERINGTON, HUME, IRVINE, IRVING, JOHNSTONE, KERR, LAIDLAW,
LITTLE, LOWTHER, MAXWELL, MILBURN, MUSGROVE, NIXON, NOBLE, OGLE, OLIVER, POTTS,
PRINGLE, RADCLIFFE, READE, RIDLEY, ROBSON, ROUTLEDGE, RUTHERFORD, SALKELD,
SCOTT, SELBY, SHAFTOE, STOREY, SIMPSON, TAIT, TAYLOR, TROTTER, TURNBULL, WAKE,
WATSON, WILSON, WOODRINGTON, YOUNG
.
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Clearly
there was a hierarchy amongst the families and the “De’ils Dozen” is a
nickname given to the thirteen most powerful and active of them, who were
probably responsible for more Reiving activity than the rest of the Border
Families put together.
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The
“De’ils Dozen”: ARMSTRONG, BELL, CARLETON, DACRE, ELLIOT, GRAHAM,
JOHNSTONE, KERR, MAXWELL, MUSGRAVE, NIXON, STOREY, SCOTT.
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But the Premier League were GRAHAMs, ARMSTRONGs, ELLIOTs and BELLs whose power
in the Western Marches was such as to create the Debateable Land that was
neither English nor Scottish. This ran roughly SW to NE; its eastern border
being the River Esk and Liddel Water from the Solway to Kershopefoot. To the
west, it followed the River Sark from Gretna to Milltown, then across country to
meet the Tarras Water. In 1552, the French ambassador (of all people!) was
appointed to regularise the situation and curb the Families’ power. He simply
divided the area in two by having the Scots’ Dyke constructed (Landranger
Sheet 85, Grid Ref. NY335740 to NY388732) with the SW containing GRAHAMs and
BELLs going to England and the NE with its ARMSTRONGs and ELLIOTs to Scotland.
The Scots Dyke is still the modern border.
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Reiving as a way of life officially ended in 1603 with the union of the Crowns
under James VI & I. Hundreds of the menfolk were executed, deported or
drafted into the British Army for overseas service. Ironically, one of the
principal persecutors of the families was Walter Scott, Duke of Buccleuch, who
had dramatically rescued Kinmont Willie a mere decade earlier! (See ARMSTRONG)
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RENWICK. From the place-name, Renwick in Cumbria. (Landranger Sheet 86,
NY598435)
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REVLAND. No data yet available.
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REYNISH. Someone from the Rhineland, perhaps?
In
pre-Roman times the people who lived along the banks of the River Rhine were called
the Rheni.
The Rhine derives its name from them.
Rhenish is still the name for sweet white wines of the area (also called
'hock'.)
Some Rhinelanders migrated to England and especially Wales
-
Pembrokeshire has many
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some keeping the name Rhenish and some spelling it Reynish. Wales and the
North Pennines share many surnames as mining families moved around in search of
work.
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REYNOLDS.
A name with both Old French and Old German roots, meaning “counsel-might”,
that is to say, a powerful adviser. It probably arrived in England with the
Conquest, although there is a similar name, Ragnaldr, in Old Norse.
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RICHARDSON. RICHARDSON's have been around, both sides of the Border since the 12th
C. RICHARD was a popular name introduced by the Normans and crops up everywhere.
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RIDLEY. From the place-name, Ridley. There are others, but the Northumberland
one is most likely. (Landranger Sheet 87, NY 794638). Nicholas RIDLEY, the
Protestant Martyr, burnt at the orders of Queen Mary, is said to have been born
in Northumberland.
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RITCHIE. A Scottish diminutive for Richard and said once to have been a common
Borders surname.
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RICKABY. From Rickerby in Cumberland.
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RITSON. Probably evolved from RICHARDSON and said to be typical of Cumberland.
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RIVER, RIVERS. The experts give several derivations. There are various places
called La Rivičre in France, in Pas de Calais and Calvados for example, or the
original could have dwelt by an unspecified river. A totally different source
could be related to REVERE and hence from the Old English word from robber that
gave us “reiver”. Or even a man from Rievaulx of Abbey fame! (Landranger
Sheet 100, SE 576850)
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ROBERTSON. Son of Robert.
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ROBINSON. Son of Robin or possibly Robert. While ROBYNSONs have been around in
Yorkshire since the 14th C., at least one branch came to
Northumberland from Lanarkshire in the early 1700s.
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ROBSON. Much the same as ROBINSON and the name of a well known clan of the North
Tyne area in the 16th C (see Reivers). More recent ROBSONs include
several generations of glassworkers in Sunderland in the 18th and 19th
C., and of course the firm of Robson and Sons, cabinet makers of Newcastle.
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RODDAM, RODHAM, RODDOM. A very ancient name, from the village (and Hall) of that
name in Northumberland. (Landranger Sheet 75, NU 025205). The name goes
back pre-Conquest, when King Athelstan granted the manor to Pole Roddam in the
10th Century.
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Famous Roddams: Admiral Robert Roddam (1720-1808) had a distinguished naval
career. The steamship Roddam,
presumably named after him, was remarkable in escaping (only just!) from the
disastrous eruption of Mount Pelee, which destroyed the town and harbour of S.
Pierre on 8th May 1902.
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RODGERS, ROGERSON. The name RODGER came with the Normans, but has an Old German
root, meaning “fame-spear”, clearly a good fighting man. DODGE and HODGE and
their derivatives come from the same name.
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ROUSE. The red one; a reference to hair colour, no doubt, although there is no
family tradition of red hair in the Stamfordham branch! (Landranger Sheet 88,
Grid Ref. NZ080720).
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ROUTLEDGE, ROUTLESS, RUTLEDGE. ROUTLEDGE is said to derive from a vanished place
in Cumberland. (Apparently there is a Routledge Burn, but the name is post-16th
C and thought to come from the surname and not v-v.) The name has several
variant spellings; ROUTLESS is probably one of them. (See also “Reivers”)
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ROW, ROWE. The early references are: LE RUWE, from Old English rūh, “the rough one” and ATTE ROWE, “dweller at the row
or street” so there are two distinct origins with different meanings.
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ROWELL. Dweller at the rough hill. Old English rūh
and hyll.
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RUMNEY. ROMNEY. Originally from Romney in Kent. The place-name is recorded in
Domesday Book and means something like “the spacious river”.
RUNCIEMAN: A runcy or rouncy is one of the many names for
a Mediaeval horse and a RUNCIEMAN looked after or bred them! See also: CO(U)LTER, PALFREYMAN,
STODDART.
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RUSSEL, RUSSELL. The red one – diminutive form of rous.
See ROUSE.
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RUTER, RUTTER The name is recorded in Cumberland
back to the 13th C. and in Weardale back to the late 15th
C, with continuous record from the 17th C. to the present day in NPA.
The name may either mean a fiddler (roteur)
or a highwayman (routier).
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RUTHERFORD. From the place-name. We have two candidates: Roxburghshire and N
Yorkshire. The second half of the name is no problem, but “ruther-” needs a
bit of thought. It is probably the same as “rother-“ which has three
different derivations. Most frequent is “cattle”. However the River Rother
on which Rotherham stands is said to derive from “big water”, while Rothbury
in Northumberland comes from a personal name and is “Hrotha’s Burgh”.
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