Aldridge
Usually a surname that developed from the Old English personal name Aldric, later reshaped to look like a place-name.
The #1,562 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,404 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Aldridge is generally explained as a reduced or reshaped form of the Old English personal name Aldric or Ealdric. That name is made from elements meaning “old” and “ruler,” so the literal sense is roughly “old ruler” or “ancient ruler.” Some 19th-century surname writers also noted that it can look like a local surname, but treated it as fundamentally a baptismal or personal-name surname rather than a true place-name.
History
English surname writers in the 19th century often grouped Aldridge with surnames that seem locational but actually come from personal names. It is found early in English records and later spread widely in England and then to North America. The spelling with -dridge is one of several surname forms that grew out of Aldric/Eldric-type names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several related surnames, including Aldridge and Eldridge, were long thought to be place-based because of their shape, even though they are really linked to old personal names.
From the historical record
“As a surname it is foimd in the H.E. ALDRIDGE. Places in Staffordshire and elsewhere. ALDUS. Local. " The old house." ALDWINCKLE. Two parishes in co. Northampton are so called. ALDWORTH. A parish in Berkshire, which the family originally possessed.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom