Reed
Usually a nickname for a red-haired or ruddy person, though some families took the name from places called Reed or from the reed plant.
The #73 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,114 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English records, Reed is most often treated as a spelling of Read/Reid, from Old English and Middle English words for “red.” It likely began as a descriptive byname for someone with a ruddy complexion, red hair, or a reddish way of dressing. In some cases, however, the surname may be locational, taken from a place called Reed or Reede, or from a local river or district name.
History
The name appears widely in medieval and later English records, and its spelling often varied among Reed, Read, Reid, and Rede. Some families were also linked by 19th-century writers to places such as Reed in Hertfordshire or Reede in Suffolk, and to the Redesdale area in Northumberland. Because the spelling overlaps with other surnames, different Reed families do not necessarily share the same origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source notes that Reed was already a common medieval spelling for “red,” not just a modern surname form.
From the historical record
“REECE, an Anglicized form of Rhys, q.v. REED = Read, q.v. Hir mouth ful smal and ther to softe and r^erf.— Chaucer, Ca«/. Tales, A 153. REEDER = Reader, q.v. REEDY = Ready, q.v. REEK, a Scot. dim. of Rtckard, Richard, q.v. REEKIE, a Scot, double dim. of Rickard,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)