Rutledge
An old English surname usually explained as a nickname or given-name form tied to the Old Germanic personal name Rutleich/Rutleich.
The #1,306 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,483 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical name dictionaries connect Rutledge with the older personal name Rutleich or Rutleich, which appears to underlie the later English surname Routledge as well. The first element is commonly taken to be the Old Germanic name element ruod- / hrod-, meaning "fame" or "renown," while the second element is interpreted as a name-ending of uncertain exact shape in later English forms. In short, Rutledge is generally treated as a hereditary surname that grew out of an earlier personal name rather than from the modern word "rut" or the place-name Rutland.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers largely grouped Rutledge with Routledge and related spellings, treating it as an inherited English surname with northern English and Scottish usage. The form became especially visible in America through the colonial-era Rutledge family of South Carolina, which made the name familiar in U.S. history. Spelling variation is common in the records, with forms such as Routhledge and Routledge appearing beside Rutledge.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname was already being linked with the older form Routledge by 19th-century etymologists, who often treated both spellings as one family of names.
From the historical record
“RUTLAND. From the county. RUTLEDGE. The same as Routledge. RUTSON. In Cumberland and West- moreland, this is the usual corruption of Richardson. R UTTER. Germ, ritter ? A rider or trooper ; also a veteran soldier. According to Halliwell " the term was usually applied to a fine, dasliing, boasting gallant; one so…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom