Riddle
An English and Scottish surname usually linked to the place-name Riddell or Ryedale, though some writers also connected it with a maker or user of riddles/sieves.
The #1,036 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,214 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname dictionaries treat Riddle as a form of Riddell, a place-based name from Scotland, especially places such as Rydale/Ridale or Riddell in Roxburghshire. Some older writers also proposed a link with a word for a sieve or riddle, from Old English or related forms, but this is usually treated as a secondary or folk-like explanation rather than the main origin. The name may also have been influenced by continental forms such as German Riedel or French Ridel.
History
The surname appears in medieval and later records in several spellings, including Ridale, Rydale, Riddel, and Riddle. It is found in both Scotland and England, and by the 19th century it had become established in English-speaking records more broadly. Some genealogical works note its association with the old Riddell family and related place-names in Roxburghshire.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Scottish antiquarian writers specifically linked the name to the old Riddell family and to place forms recorded in medieval charters.
From the historical record
“fil. suff. -ing + ttln, estate, etc.] ' RIDDLE, V. Riddel(l. RIDDLER (EngO SiFTER (of grain, etc.) [O.E. hriddel, a riddle, sieve + the agent, suff. -ere] RIDDLESDEN (Eng.) Bel. to Riddlesden (Yorks), the Domesday Redelesden = Rebel's (or Wr^del's) Valley [v. under”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)