Recorded in many spellings and found in its different forms throughout Europe, this is a surname that has sveral potential origins. In the British Isles it is recorded Read, Reade, Reed, Red and Redd, whilst in Germany it is Rede or Roth, and in Poland Rydz or the locational Rydzynski or Rydzinski. It is thought that the surname may derive from the Olde English pre 7th century word "read" meaning red, and as such was probably nationalistic for an Anglo-Saxon, as these people were often red haired or had a ruddy complexion. This description may also have applied in other pasrts of Europe as well as Southern germany and Poland. The second possibility is that the name is locational again from an Olde English or Anglo-Saxon word "roegheafod", meaning the land occupied by deer, whilst another explanation is from the word "hreod", meaning reeds as grown in a river. Ralph de Rede is recorded in the Curia Regis rolls of Hertfordshire in the year 1203. Examples of recordings include Michael Rydzynski, the son of Franciszek Rydzynski, christened at Warsaw, Poland, on January 1st 1838, whilst Joseph Reid (1843 - 1917), born in Ayrshire, Scotland, was the inventor of the Reid oil burner, which did so much to advance the oil industry in the United States. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Leofwine se Reade. This was dated 1016 in the records known as the "Olde English Bynames for the county of Kent", during the reign of King Canute, 1016 - 1035. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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