Reidy
An Irish surname that is usually a spelling variant of Ready/Reidy, ultimately tied to a nickname or older Gaelic form rather than one single settled origin.
The #7,896 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,634 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources point to Reidy as a variant spelling of Ready, with some tradition linking it to an Irish Gaelic surname form written as O'Riada or a similar name. In English-language surname study, Ready/Reidy has also been treated as a nickname-type name, though the exact path is not always clear in older works. Because the evidence is mixed and the medieval spellings are inconsistent, the safest summary is that Reidy is an Irish surname with an uncertain but likely Gaelic background.
History
The name appears in Irish surname lists and was recorded especially in parts of Ireland such as Antrim, Dublin, Down, Tyrone, and Armagh. In 19th- and early-20th-century scholarship it is often grouped with Ready and related spellings, showing how fluid surname forms were in Ireland. It has continued in both Ireland and the Irish diaspora, and modern bearers often preserve one of several closely related spellings.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries often filed Reidy beside Ready and Reddy, reflecting how one family name could shift spelling from parish to parish and generation to generation.
From the historical record
“REIDPATH, a North, form of Red path, q.v. REIDY, a var. of Ready, q.v. REIGATE (Eng.)' Bel. to Reigate, 13th and 14th cent. Reygate = the Ridge-Gate [O.E. hrycg, a ridge -t- geat, a gate, open- ing] John de Rtygate.— Pipe-Roll, A.D. 1261. REILLEY^ REILLY”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)