Contents [hide]

Eldridge History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Eldridge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The rich and ancient history of the Eldridge family name dates back to the time of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It comes 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 Eldridge family

The surname Eldridge 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 Eldridge family

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

Eldridge Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Eldridge have been found, including Elrich, Elritch, Eldrich, Eldrick, Eldred, Eldrid, Eldridg, Eldredge, Eldridge and many more.

Early Notables of the Eldridge family

Notables of the family at this time include

the Eldridge knight

Eldridge Ranking

In the United States, the name Eldridge is the 1,148^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 3 However, in Australia, the name Eldridge is ranked the 948^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,181 people with that name. 4

Eldridge migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Eldridge, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were :

Eldridge Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jonathon Eldridge, who settled in New Jersey in 1678

Eldridge Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Eldridge, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1766
Thomas Eldridge, who settled in Baltimore Maryland in 1775

Eldridge Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Captain Eldridge, who settled in San Francisco, California in 1850

Eldridge migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Eldridge Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mrs. Rebeccah Eldridge U.E. who settled in Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Penobscot Association 5

Eldridge Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

William Eldridge, who settled in Joe Batts Arm, Newfoundland in 1817 6

Eldridge migration to Australia +

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

Eldridge Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Eldridge, British Convict who was convicted in Maidstone, Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl Spencer" in May 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Charles Henry Eldridge, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. William Eldridge, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 19th November 1827, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Henry Eldridge, British Convict who was convicted in Southampton, Hampshire, England for life for machine breaking, transported aboard the "Eleanor" on 26th June 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. Henry Eldridge, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Eldridge 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:

Eldridge Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Maria Eldridge, (b. 1845), aged 22, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Lancashire Witch" sailing to Auckland and Lyttelton, New Zealand on 29th July 1867 12
James Eldridge, aged 33, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Howrah" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Eldridge (post 1700) +

Ben Eldridge (1938-2024), American five-string banjo player and a founding member of the seminal bluegrass group The Seldom Scene
William Brody Eldridge (b. 1987), American NFL football tight end for the Chicago Bears
David Roy Eldridge (1911-1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", an American jazz trumpet player
Roy David "Little Jazz" Eldridge (1911-1989), American jazz trumpet player
James B. "Jamie" Eldridge (b. 1973), American politician, Massachusetts state senator
George H. Eldridge (1844-1918), American soldier, recipient of the Medal of Honor
Clarence Eldridge (1888-1981), American Major League Baseball umpire
Charles W. Eldridge (1877-1922), American Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts
Lieutenant Commander John Eldridge Jr. (1903-1942), American Navy officer who received the Navy Cross posthumously, eponym of the USS Eldridge (DE-173)
Charles Eldridge, American politician, Rhode Island Presidential Elector for Rhode Island, 1824, 1828 13
... (Another 41 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Eldridge family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Bertie D M Eldridge (b. 1917), English Stoker 2nd Class serving for the Royal Navy from Newport, Isle of Wight, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 14

Senghenydd colliery

Mr. William Eldridge (b. 1899), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died

SS Caribou

Mr. H. A. Eldridge, British passenger who was Royal Army Gunner was travelling aboard the railway ferry "SS Caribou" when it was struck by a German submarine torpedo on 14th October 1942, the most significant sinking in Canadian waters at that time, he survived in the sinking

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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-spencer
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1827
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eleanor
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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