This surname is or early medieval English origin, and is from an occupational nickname for a rider, deriving from the Middle English (1200 - 1500) "rid(en)", to ride, and "out" meaning "out" or "forth". It is first recorded as a surname in the latter half of the 13th Century (see below). Alternative spellings have included "Ridut" (1276), and "Rydhowt" (1379) in the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire. The surname "Rideway" is also recorded in Yorkshire in the 13th Century. The following entry appears in the 1730 Marriage Licence Records of London: "Married - Teophilus Ridout and Love Barnes", St. George's Church, Hanover Square. In the modern idiom, the name has three spelling variations, Rideout, Ridout and Ridoutt. Among the recordings in London are the marriage of Alfred Ridout and Harriet Anne Hare on June 16th 1857, at St. Pancras', Old Church, and the christening of Richard, son of John and Abigall Ridout, on January 29th 1674, at St. Sepulchre's. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elyas Rydhut, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Somerset", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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