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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

along the

Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for 96 miles (154 km) between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to ...

, in

Liddesdale Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the Roxburghshire, County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, Dumfries and Galloway, River Esk, a distance of . The ...

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 leas ...

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...

and

Cavers Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is ...

on the

River Teviot The River Teviot (; gd, Abhainn Tìbhiot), 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 A ...

. Early Routledges were

border reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

. 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 its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

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

Bewcastle Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England. It is in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cumberland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at ...

and

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

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

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

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. From Ireland, some immigrated to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the 17th century, and later

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the late 18th century.

Geographical distribution

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

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

and

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. Other Routledges are in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(890), the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(580),

(540) and

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

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

and

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

). 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 ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

(350),

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(220) and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

(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 Alison Mary Stuart Routledge (born 29 April 1960) is a New Zealand actress, known for her performance as Joanne in the 1985 cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cu ...

(born 1960), New Zealand actress *

Anna Mae Routledge Anna Mae Wills (born Anna Mae Routledge; March 31, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Celeste in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''16 Wishes''. Biography Wills was born in Calgary, Alberta. She graduated from the U ...

, Canadian actress * Ian Routledge, fictional character on the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'' * Jordan Routledge, British actor *

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award f ...

(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– ...

(1843–1899), British publisher and politician * George Albert Routledge (1855–1924), Canadian politician from Ontario *

Janet Routledge Janet Routledge is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election.Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge (born 1952), South African politician

Scientists

* Michael Routledge, environmental toxicologist *

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 sc ...

(1922–1994), engineer and historian *

Joshua Routledge Joshua Routledge (27 April 1773 – 8 February 1829) was an engineer and inventor of the early 19th century during the Industrial Revolution. Mechanical engineering as a profession was on the rise and the advent of the Steam power during the In ...

, (1773–1829), English engineer and inventor of the Engineer's Slide Rule *

Katherine Routledge Katherine Maria Routledge (), née Pease (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 o ...

(1866–1935), English archaeologist, surveyor of Easter Island * Norman Routledge (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 Thomas William Routledge (18 April 1867 – 9 May 1927) was a cricketer who played Test cricket for South Africa in the 1890s. He was an attacking batsman and occasional bowler. Thomas Routledge was born in England, where he learned his crick ...

(1867–1927), English born South African test cricketer *

Wayne Routledge Wayne Neville Anthony Routledge (born 7 January 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He represented England at under-16, under-19 and under-21 level. Routledge began his career in London with Crystal Pala ...

(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 e ...

(1812–1888), English publisher, founder of the Routledge imprint * William Routledge (priest), Scottish Episcopalian priest

Notes

References

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