Routledge is an Anglo-Scottish surname.

Variants

Common variant spellings include Rutledge, Ratledge, Ruttledge and Rutlidge. Dozens of other spellings are attested in historical records.

History

The surname was first recorded in the 15th century in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

along the

Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west, separating Scotland and England. The Firth of Forth was the border between the Picto- Gaelic Kingdom of Alba and the Angli ...

, in

Liddesdale Liddesdale is a district in the Roxburghshire, County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland. It includes the area of the valley of the Liddel Water that extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, Dumfries and ...

and the towns of

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

and Cavers on the

River Teviot The River Teviot (; ), or Teviot Water, is a river of the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and is the largest tributary of the River Tweed by catchment area. The Teviot is an important river for wildlife, especially the Atlantic salmon, but ...

. Early Routledges were

border reivers Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...

. In the 16th century, after their land was destroyed in the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (; December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

, the family fled across the border and settled in Kilham, Northumberland and

Bewcastle Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Cumberland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at the 2011 Census. ...

and

Lanercost Lanercost is a village in the northern part of Cumbria, England. The settlement is in the civil parish of Burtholme, in the Cumberland local government district. Lanercost is known for the presence of Lanercost Priory and its proximity to ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

. In the 17th century, some Routledges were sent to

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. From Ireland, some immigrated to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the 17th century, and later

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the late 18th century.

Geographical distribution

There are approximately 7,100 Routledges worldwide, with the majority residing in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(4,500). In England, the highest concentration of Routledges is in the north, in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

and

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. Other Routledges are in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(890), the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(580),

(540) and

(220) (with most living near the border, in

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

and

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

). The Rutledge variant is most common in the diaspora and overall, with 41,000 people bearing the name worldwide, primarily in the United States (35,000), but also Canada (2,900), Australia (1,000), England (620),

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(350),

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(220) and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

(200). 1,200 people are named Ratledge, 990 of whom are in the United States. England is home to another 180 Ratledges. 430 people are named Ruttledge, which is most frequent in Ireland (140), and also found in England (130) and the United States (110).

People with the surname Routledge

Entertainers

* Alison Routledge (born 1960), New Zealand actress * Anna Mae Routledge, Canadian actress *Ian Routledge, fictional character on the Australian soap opera ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'' *

Jordan Routledge Jordan Routledge is a British former actor. He played Sajid in the hit film ''East Is East (1999 film), East Is East'' (1999). Jordan has also starred as a scout in the film ''Gabriel & Me''. After leaving school with three General Certificate ...

, British actor *

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge ( ; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress and singer, best known for her comedy role as Hyacinth Bucket in the popular BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), for which she was nominated for ...

(born 1929), English actress, comedian and singer

Politics

Edmund Routledge Edmund Routledge (30 January 1843 – 25 August 1899) was a British publisher of boys' magazines and an author of books about sports. Early life Edmund Routledge was born in London on 30 January 1843, the second son of George Routledge (1812–18 ...

(1843–1899), British publisher and politician * George Albert Routledge (1855–1924), Canadian politician from Ontario * Janet Routledge, Canadian politician from British Columbia * Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge (born 1952), South African politician

Scientists

Donald Routledge Hill Donald Routledge Hill (6 August 1922 – 30 May 1994)D. A. King, “In Memoriam: Donald Routledge Hill (1922-1994)”, ''Arabic Sciences and Philosophy,'' Volume 5 / Issue 02 / September 1995, pp 297-302 was a British engineer and historian of s ...

(1922–1994), engineer and historian * Joshua Routledge, (1773–1829), English engineer and inventor of the Engineer's Slide Rule *

Katherine Routledge Katherine Maria Routledge ( ; ; 11 August 1866 – 13 December 1935) was an English archaeologist and anthropologist who, in 1914, initiated and carried out much of the first true survey of Easter Island. She was the second child of Kate and ...

(1866–1935), English archaeologist, surveyor of Easter Island *

Norman Routledge Norman Arthur Routledge (7 March 1928 – 27 April 2013) was a British people, British mathematician and schoolteacher. He was a personal friend of fellow mathematician Alan Turing (1912–1954). Life and career Norman Routledge was born near ...

(1928–2013), English mathematician and schoolteacher *

William Scoresby Routledge William Scoresby Routledge, FRGS (1859–1939) was a British ethnographer, anthropologist and adventurer. With his wife, Katherine Routledge, he completed the first ethnographies of the Kikuyu (East Africa) and the people of Rapa Nui (Easter ...

(1859–1939), anthropologist, husband of Katherine Routledge

Sports

* Ben Fisk-Routledge (born 1993), Canadian soccer player * Bill Routledge (1907–1972), English footballer * Jon Routledge (born 1989), English footballer * Raymond Routledge (1931–2008), American bodybuilder, 1961 Mr. America * Thomas Routledge (1867–1927), English born South African test cricketer * Wayne Routledge (born 1985), English footballer

Other

George Routledge George Routledge (23 September 1812 – 13 December 1888) was a British book publisher and the founder of the publishing house Routledge. Early life He was born in Brampton, Cumberland on 23 September 1812. Career Routledge gained his early ex ...

(1812–1888), English publisher, founder of the Routledge imprint * Miles Routledge (born 1999), English author and war tourist * William Routledge (priest) (1770–1843), Scottish Episcopalian priest

Notes

References

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