Redden
Usually a surname for someone from Reading or a similar place-name, though some early writers also tried to connect it with words meaning “red” or “fern.”
The #3,919 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,052 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest older explanation treats Redden as a locational surname, especially a variant or corruption of Reading, the Berkshire town, or of a place called Redding in Scotland. Some 19th-century writers also linked it to Celtic place-names meaning “fern” or to a Breton form such as Rodon, but those ideas are less secure. The form may also overlap with surnames built from the adjective “red” or with related spellings like Redding and Rodden.
History
Older surname dictionaries group Redden with Redding, Reddin, and Rodden, showing that the spelling was flexible and often influenced by local pronunciation. In Ireland and Britain alike, the name appears mainly as a surname of place-based origin rather than a true descriptive nickname. Modern bearers are especially visible in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source explicitly says Redden could be a corruption of Reading, “so pronounced,” which is a good reminder that surname spellings often followed speech, not standard spelling.
From the historical record
“however, other aud secular aiDplications. REDDEN. REDDIN. 1. Corruptions of Reading, the Berkshire town. 2. A hamlet in Roxburghshire. REDDING. L From Reading, co. Berks, so pronounced. 2. From Redding, a village in Stirlingshire. REDDISH. Not suh-rufus, but a town- ship in the parish of Manchester. REDDY. The same…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom