"Reed" is commonly believed to be a
nickname-derived surname referring to a person's complexion or hair being
ruddy or red. In the United States, Reed was adopted by some
Pennsylvania Dutch (German) families in the 18th century, notably that of John Reed (Johannes Reith), a former Hessian soldier from Raboldshausen, Germany, who made the first documented gold find in the United States in 1799. The
Reed Gold Mine is today a State Historic Site in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. 'Reed' appears as a surname most commonly in
English-speaking countries, especially in the United States, where it was the 55th most common surname in 1990 accounting for about 0.12% of the population. In Great Britain, 'Reed' ranked at 158th (0.081%) and 183rd (0.073%) in 1881 and 1998, respectively, with little or no change in internal distribution among counties during the intervening century. The relative frequencies in 1998 among several countries were United States >> Great Britain > Australia ~ New Zealand ~ Canada >> Northern Ireland >> Ireland. 'Reed' has been adopted by several notable actors as their stage surname in preference to their birth names (see #Pseudonyms and aliases, below).
Reeds of Northumberland The Reeds of
Northumberland in
England were originally centered around the chief Reed residence at Troughend in
Redesdale, on the banks of the
River Rede. According to
Sir Walter Scott: The earliest reference to the Reeds of Troughend is from 1400, when "Thomas Reed of Redysdale" is recorded in county records as paying "to William de Swinburne in the sum of 20 pds...for the ransom of William Moetrop of Tenedale". In 1429 Thomas Reed is again recorded, as serving on a jury in Elsdon. In 1442, a John Reed is described as "the Laird of Troughwen, the chief of the name of Reed, and divers of his followers...a ruder and more lawless crew there needs not be..." The Reeds of Northumberland were one of the
Border Reiver families of the 16th century, who lived by blackmail and cattle rustling in the Anglo-Scottish
border country. One notable Reed was Percival Reed, believed to have been Laird of Troughend in the 1580s and 1590s. His story has been handed down in
The Death of Parcy Reed, a traditional
Border ballad (
Child Ballad 193). This song tells of an alliance between the Halls of Redesdale and the Crosiers of Liddesdale in Scotland, against the Reeds. Percival Reed held the office of Keeper of Redesdale, and had arrested one Whinton Crosier for raiding in the valley. This put the Reeds at feud with the Crosier family. The Halls, old friends of Percy Reed, turned against him and conspired with the Crosiers to trap him while he was out hunting. When the Crosiers ambushed Percy, the Halls watched as he was murdered. Percy stood alone unarmed against the Crosiers, and according to the ballad: Percy Reed's ghost is said to have haunted Redesdale for many years, and "at times he would come gallantly cantering across the moorland as he had done when blood ran warm in his veins. ...And yet, again, he would come as a fluttering, homeless soul, whimpering and formless, with a moaning cry for Justice—Justice—Judgment on him who had by black treachery hurried him unprepared to his end."
In Norway Many
Norwegians use a last name derived from their family farm or town.
Reed is a village
Gloppen Municipality in
Vestland county in
Norway. As of 2010, 325 share the surname Reed. == Geographical distribution ==