This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Riddell,' in the parish of Lilliesleaf, Roxburghshire. A clan name of great antiquity. (2 Local; v. Reddall (1).

1761. Married — William Ridell and Mary Simpson: St. George, Hanover Square.

1768. — James Riddle and Mary Humphry: ibid.

1770. — Samuel Harper and Helen Riddell: ibid.

These surnames have a twofold origin-one personal and the other territorial. The Ridels came from Gascony and the de Rydales from the wapentake of Ryedale in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The two appear almost simultaneously in Scodand, and the names are always distinguished in spelling, a very remarkable thing at that early date. The Ridels never prefixed de, and the de Rydales invariably did so because they came from a place so-called. The first Ridel of Craneston (i. e. Cranstoun-Riddell in Midlothian) was probably Gervasius Ridel who appears as a witness in the Inquisttio of Earl David as to the extent of the lands of the church of Glasgow, c-1124, and was most probably a descendant of the Galfridus Ridel de Blaye of 1048 (The Genealogist, new ser. VI, p. 1). At this day the name is a strictly personal one in Normandy. Gervasius also appears as a witness to charters in the reigns of Alxander I and David I (REG., 5; Kelso, 372; Melros, p. 4, 5, etc.). The first of the Riddells of that Ilk was Walter de Ridale or Riddale who received a charter from King David, c. 1150, of the lands of Whitimes (an error for Whittune), Eschetho I to which he transferred the name of his Yorkshire property), and Lilislive (now Lilliesleaf) (Lawrie, p. 179-180). He also appears as a witness in many charters in the cartularies of Dryburgh, Holyrood, Glasgow, Newbattle, Cambuskenneth, Dunfermline, etc. He died without issue, c. 1155, and left his property to his brother Anschetil or Ansketil de Riddel by a will which was confirmed by Pope Adrian IV (Dalrymple, p. 348). The barony remained in the possession of the descendants of Ansketil for twenty-five generations, till the year 1819. The arms of this family, a chevron between three ears of rye, evidently refer to the old form of their surname, "Rydale, and are therefore what are known as canting arms (arma cantantia), the wapentake lying in the valley of the river Rye. Many individuals of the name are in record as holders of lands and as charter witnesses in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and among the more distinguished of the name in later times may be mentioned Robert Riddell of Glenriddell, the friend and early patron of Robert Hums, John Riddell (1785-1862), the peerage lawyer and genealogist, Henry Scott Riddell (1798-1870), etc. Gave name to Riddslstoun in Ayrshire, 1622 (Retours, Ayr, 212).

(English) 1 the Anglo-Saxon pers. name Rǽdel [Old English rǽd, counsel, advice + the diminutive suff. -el] 2 the Anglo-Saxon pers. name Wrǽdel [Old English wrǽd or wrǽþ, a band, wreath (wríþan, to bind) + the diminutive suff. -el', cp. Ridlington] 3 for Reddall, Reddell, q.v.

Of that Ilk, in the parish of Lilliesleaf, co. Roxburgh. There is a tradition of great antiquity, ascending to the VII. or VIII. century. See Lay of the Last Minstrel, notes-but documentary evidence goes back to the XII. only. Richard Basset, justiciar of England, temp. Hen. I., married the heiress of Riddell, and his eldest son assumed his mother's surname. Genealogists differ as to the extraction of the family. See Douglas's Baronage. Betham's Baronetage, Nisbet's Heraldry, &c.

REDELL: Local: from the lands of Ridell in Roxburghshire. The family are descended from Oscitel de Ridel, 1090.

Local. From lands in the county of Yorkshire, formerly called the Ryedales.

The same as Riddell, found Rydale, De Rydale, and De Ridale; from Riddell or Ryedale, in the parish of Lilliesleaf co. Roxburgh. Sir Walter Scott refers to several curious documents which warrant most conclusively the epithet of "Ancient Riddell." See Stat. Ac. of Scotland, vol. iii. p. 27, note.

The Riddells or Riddles have long been established in Northumberland. During the 16th and 17th centuries several of the mayors and sheriffs of Newcastle bore the name of Riddel (B.). The Riddells of Tillmouth were an important family in the 13th and 14th centuries. An ancient family of Riddell once lived at the seat of that name in Roxburghshire (L.). Riddells - Quarter is a township in Northumberland. The Cornish name of Riddle has evidently had an independent origin.