Eldridg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Eldridg name is an important part of the history of the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. Eldridg is derived from the Old English name Aelfric, which literally means "elf-ruler" or Aeoelric which means "noble ruler." Both survived the Conquest, by which time the first element of the name had been reduced to "Al" or "El." Aeflric, Aefric, Alfric, Aluric 1 was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 in one form or the other. 2

Early Origins of the Eldridg family

The surname Eldridg was first found in Suffolk where one of the first records of the name found there was Hugo Aeflic filius c. 1095. In 1209, Ricardus Alurici was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire. Continuing through early census records, William Alfric was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1212 in Berkshire, William Alfrich was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296 and finally, John Alfryg was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset in 1327. 2

Early History of the Eldridg family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eldridg research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1500 and 1560 are included under the topic Early Eldridg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eldridg Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Eldridg were recorded, including Elrich, Elritch, Eldrich, Eldrick, Eldred, Eldrid, Eldridg, Eldredge, Eldridge and many more.

Early Notables of the Eldridg family

Notables of the family at this time include

the Eldridge knight

Eldridg 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. 3

Eldridg Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Giles Eldridg, his wife Mary, and son Giles, settled in Barbados in 1679

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies