Ruddell Family History

English: habitational name from Ruddle in Newnham (Gloucestershire) or Rudhall in Ross (Herefordshire). The Gloucestershire placename may derive from Old English hrēod ‘reed’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ though an error due to confusion with the Gloucestershire placename Rodley may mean that the second element comes from Old English hyll ‘hill’.

The Herefordshire placename derives from Old English halh ‘nook corner of land’ with an uncertain first element perhaps the Old English plant-name rūde ‘rue’ or Middle English rud ‘marigold’.

English: nickname from a diminutive of Middle English rud(de) ‘red’. Compare Rudd.

English and Irish (Armagh): variant of Riddell. Probably also an altered form of German Rüdel (see Rudel).