Riordan
An Irish surname usually taken to mean “royal bard,” from Gaelic elements for “king” and “bard/poet.”
The #4,515 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,341 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Riordan is an Irish surname commonly explained from Gaelic elements meaning “king” and “bard” or “poet,” giving the sense “royal bard.” Older sources connect it with forms like O’Riordan and variants such as Reardon and Reardan. The exact linguistic shape varies in 19th-century treatments, but the name is consistently Irish in origin.
History
The name is well established in Ireland and was later carried abroad by emigration, especially to English-speaking countries. Historical surname dictionaries often list several anglicized spellings under the same Irish family name. In modern use, Riordan and Reardon are both common English spellings of the same underlying Irish surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some old surname books gloss Riordan very poetically as “royal bard,” which is one reason it stands out among Irish surnames.
From the historical record
“RINTELL } ^- Rentoul ante. RIORDAN I (Celt.) Royal Bard [Ir. Righ- RIORDEN f bkarddn—righ, a king + the asp. form of bard, a poet + the dim. suff. -a«] RIPLEY (Eng.) Bel. to Ripley (Yorks: Domes- day Ripeleia, Ripeleie, 14th cent. Riplay-; Derby, Surrey, etc.) = i Hrypa's or Hreopa's Lea [A.-Sax. *Hrypan- or…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)