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.

(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.

(English) Descendant of little Rada (counsel); dweller on, or near, a red hill; one who came from Rydal or Ryedale (valley where rye was grown), in Westmorland and Yorkshire respectively.

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.

A baronial name, derived from a Gothic race in Aquitaine. Gerard, Baron of Blaye, c. 1030, granted lands to the Abbey of Eons Dulcis near Bordeaux, which grant was confirmed by his brother Gerald de Blavia, and his sons Geoffry Rudelli (Ridel) and William Frehelandus (Gall. Christ. ii. 484, Instr.). The last-named, who was living 1079-1099 (Gall. Christ. ii. 459, Instr.), m. a sister of William de Albiui Brito of England, and had Warin, Oliver, and Geoffry. The latter (Geoffry Ridel) went to Scotland t. David I., from whom he had grants, and was ancestor of the Riddells, Baronets. Another Geoffry Ridel, of the preceding generation, came to England from Apulia t. William I. with William Bigod, and is mentioned in Domesday 1086. He was a Crown Commissioner with Ralph Basset 1106 (Mon. Angl. i. 172), and succeeded the latter as Justiciary 1120. A collateral branch in 1165 possessed estates in Normandy.

There is a Scottish family of Riddell which takes its name from R., Scotland. Geoffry Ridel occurs in Normandy 1180, Roger R. 1195, Geoffry 1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae).

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.