Read (surname)

Read is a surname of English origins.

Derivation

The name is most likely to derive from rēad, the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) term for the colour red. As a name it is believed to have originally been descriptive of person's complexion or hair being ruddy or red. Old English had spelling variants depending on dialect, rēad was the form in West Saxon, rēid was the spelling characteristic of Northumbrian English. This variation is probably fossilised in the modern name variants, Read and Reid. There is a settlement in Lancashire called Read, the name deriving from an Old English term meaning roe[deer]-headland, this may also account for some Read surnames.

Historical use

As a personal name a grammatical form of Read, Reada, was used at the earliest stages of English history. The English town of Reading on the River Thames derives its name from a very early English tribal or community group called the Readingas. The Readingas appear to have been named after a chieftain called Reada, "The Red One," with the addition of the element -ingas meaning "the people of." The first written use of the name is that of a Leofwine se Reade (Leofwine the Red), in the time of King Canute, dating to 1016-1020. However, this usage would have been as a descriptive by-name as inherited family surnames had not yet become established. A variant spelling is found in the person of Godwin le Rede, recorded in Norfolk in 1273, and a Thomas Read is recorded in 1327; their use of the name would have been as a heritable surname. A Read family was prominent in early American history, George Read of Delaware was signatory to the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution.