Contents [hide]

Rudd History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States New Zealand West Indies South Africa

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Rudd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Wales
Ireland

Etymology of Rudd

What does the name Rudd mean?

The surname Rudd is derived from the Old English root "rud-," a component in the words "rudig," which means "ruddy," and "ruddoc," which means "red-breast." The surname was originally a nickname for a ruddy complexioned or red-haired person, or perhaps for someone who habitually wore the color red. The surname Rudd may also be a local name derived from residence "at the rood;" that is, residence near a crossroads.

Early Origins of the Rudd family

The surname Rudd was first found in Carmarthenshire (Welsh: Sir Gaerfyrddin), located in Southwest Wales, one of thirteen historic counties and presently one of the principal area in Wales, where they held a family seat from very ancient times; some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Rudd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rudd research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1674, 1757 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Rudd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rudd Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Rudd have included Rudd, Wrudd, Rutt, Rud, Rut, Roud, Routt, Ruttle and others.

Early Notables of the Rudd family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

Thomas Ruddiman (1674-1757), Scottish philologist, born in the parish of Boyndie, Banffshire, was son of James Ruddiman, tenant of the farm of Raggel, a strong Royalist1...

Rudd Ranking

In the United States, the name Rudd is the 1,890^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Rudd family to Ireland

Some of the Rudd family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rudd migration to the United States +

Many Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Rudd were found:

Rudd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Nathaniel Rudd, who landed in Maryland in 1661 3
John Rudd, who landed in Maryland in 1670 3
Mary Rudd, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 3
Elizabeth Rudd, who settled in Delaware in 1682
John and Abraham Rudd, who settled in Virginia in 1698

Rudd Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Rudd, who arrived in South Carolina in 1711-1712 3

Rudd Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Rudd, aged 27, who arrived in New York in 1812 3
Grace Rudd, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 3
Amos, Isaac, Michael, Richard, Thomas, and William Rudd all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1775 and 1850
Mrs. Charlotte Rudd, aged 52, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
Mr. Joshua Rudd, aged 59, British settler who arrived in New York aboard the ship "Cynosure" in 1863
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rudd migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Rudd Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Rudd, (b. 1766), aged 34, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1830 4
Joseph Rudd, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Thomas Rudd who was convicted in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. John Rudd, English convict who was convicted in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
James John Rudd, who arrived in Kangaroo Island aboard the ship "Buffalo" in 1836 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rudd migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Rudd Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Harry Rudd, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th February 1856 9
J. Rudd, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Viscount Canning" in 1865
William Rudd, aged 32, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Nations" in 1874
Fanny Rudd, aged 24, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Nations" in 1874
Lizzie Rudd, aged 3, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Queen of Nations" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Rudd migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Rudd Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

William Rudd, who landed in Jamaica in 1706 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Rudd (post 1700) +

Paul Rudd (b. 1969), American award wining film and stage actor, best known for his roles in Ant-Man (2015), Role Models (2008) , I Love You, Man (2009) and his reappearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).
Roswell Rudd (1935-2017), American Grammy Award-nominated jazz trombonist
Eldon Dean Rudd (1920-2002), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona (1977-1987)
Stephen Andrew Rudd (1874-1936), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1931-1936)
Dwayne Rudd (b. 1976), American NFL football linebacker who played from 1997 to 2003
Mark Rudd (b. 1947), American educator and anti-war activist
Ricky Rudd (b. 1956), American NASCAR driver
Kim Elizabeth Rudd (1957-2024), Canadian politician and businesswoman elected to the House of Commons of Canada to represent the riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South (2015-2019)
Mr. John Graham Russell Rudd M.B.E., D.L., British recipient of Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for services to Schools and to the community in Derbyshire 11
Mrs. Diana Rudd B.E.M., British recipient of the British Empire Medal on 8th June 2018, for services to Girlguiding and to Young People in Londonderry
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Rudd family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Edwin A Rudd (b. 1917), English Ordnance Artificer 4th Class serving for the Royal Navy from Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 12

RMS Titanic

Mr. Henry Rudd (d. 1912), aged 23, English Fireman/Stoker from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 13

Sources +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) HMS BUFFALO 1836. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1836Buffalo.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html