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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2016
Ridall is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Ridall family lived in Yorkshire at Ryedale or in Westmorland at Rydal with Loughrigg. The name Riddell and its variants occur in both locations. Ridall is a classic example of an English polygenetic surname, which is a surname that was developed in a number of different locations and adopted by various families independently.
The surname Ridall was first found in Aquitaine where this baronial name was derived from a Gothic race. It was here that the Baron of Blaye ( c. 1030) granted lands to the Abbey of Fons Dulcis near Bordeaux. This grant was confirmed by Gerald de Blavia and one of his sons Geoffre Rudelli (Ridel.) The latter lived 1079-1099 and left for Scotland during the time of King David I. Upon his arrival, he received grants of lands. He was the ancestor of the Riddells, Baronets.
Another Geoffrey Ridel from the preceding generation went to England from Apulia with William Bigod and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. He was Crown Commissioner in 1106. In 1120, he succeeded Ralph Basset as Justiciary.
Stephen Ridell was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1186 and years later Stephen Riddel was Lord Chancellor of Ireland (c. 1313-1318). A member of the family of Picard changed his name to Ruddle, at the instance of King Edward IV., to denote his birthplace. CITATION[CLOSE]
Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Riddell, Riddle, Riddall, Riddells, Ridel and others.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ridall research. Another 339 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1030, 1106, 1124, 1577, 1582, 1590, 1595, 1601, 1604, 1616, 1663, 1632, 1669, 1700, 1664, 1747 and are included under the topic Early Ridall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ridall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Ridall family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Ridall or a variant listed above were: William Riddell settled in Virginia in 1635; Archibald Riddell settled in New Jersey in 1685; Sarah Riddall settled in Virginia in 1640 with her husband.
The Ridall Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Ridall Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
This page was last modified on 24 August 2016 at 12:12.