Reddick
Usually a name for someone who lived by a red dyke or ditch, though some forms may also come from a nickname meaning “red.”
The #3,628 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,553 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest early explanation treats Reddick as a form of Riddel or related names meaning “dweller by the red dyke” or red ditch, from Old English read “red” plus dīc “ditch, dyke.” Another old note connects it with Ruddick/Riddick as a diminutive of Rudd, a nickname based on “red.” The surname may therefore have more than one historical source, with local spelling variation helping the forms converge.
History
The name is recorded in a number of spelling variants, including Ruddick, Riddick, Rodick, and Reddick, which suggests that pronunciation and spelling shifted freely over time. In English and Scots usage it is found as a regional surname rather than a widely standardized one. The modern American distribution likely reflects later British and Irish migration patterns.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An early source notes that a related form, ruddok, could also mean a robin in dialect.
From the historical record
“Riddel(l, q.v. REDDICK I Dweller at the Red Dike [O.E. read + die] (rarely) 2 for Riddock, q.v. REDDIEl REDDY J Ready, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)