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This interesting and ancient Scottish surname is locational. It originates from 'The lands of Riddoch' near Comrie in Perthshire. The first recorded bearer of the name, as shown below, was a member of the family who purchased the lands and then subsequently adopted the locality as their surname. The recorded spelling variations include such as Reidheugh, Reidheuche, Redheuch etc, Jonett Riddoche the heir of Hendrie Ridoche (so much for spelling), being so registered in the land charters of Temptarance, Scotland, in 1657. The placename appears also in other parts of Scotland, such as Reddochbrae in Ayrshire. There are now three main forms of the surname from this source, being Reddoch, Riddoch and Ruddoch. Examples of the surname recording include those of James Reidheuch, a burgess of Stirling in 1481, and the laird of Cultirbragane, Alexander Reidheuch, in the 1587 Roll of Landlords, in the parliamentary rolls of Scotland circa 1505. A family of the Riddoch name are recorded in the parish of Fordyce from the end of the 16th Century on, and the marriage of John Riddoch and Grisel Anderson was recorded in Edinburgh, Midlothian, on March 28th 1611. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Reidheuche, which was dated circa 1341, in the "Register of the Great Seal of Scotland", during the reign of King David 11 of Scotland, 1327 - 1371. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
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