Kerrich

Recorded in various spelling forms including Carriage, Kerridge, Kerrich, Kerrodg, Kerrod, and possibly Courage, this is an English surname. It is locational and derives from Curridge, a village and manor in the county of Berkshire recorded in the 9th century as "Cusan hrig", or the ridge belonging to Cusa, or possibly from the hamlet of Kerridge near Prestbury in Cheshire, the meaning of which is the bog (kerr) by the ridge. In the spelling of Kerridge, the surname is well recorded in many parts of the country, although the other forms would seem to be associated mainly with the London and Home Counties region. Locational surnames are by their very nature 'from' names. That is to say names given to people after they left their original homesteads, and moved elsewhere. In medieval times and even now in the 20th century, one of the easiest ways to identify a stranger was to call him, or sometimes her, by the name of the place from whence they came. Spelling over the centuries being at best erratic, and local accents very thick, often lead to the development of 'sounds like' spelling forms. Early examples of the surname recording include Walter Curage of Essex in the Court Rolls of Colchester in 1254 and John de Curage of Bedford in 1309. Later examples showing the probable development of the spelling and taken from early surviving church registers include: Susanna Carriage (!), given as being the daughter of Thomas Kerridge, christened at the church known as St Dionis Backchurch, in the city of London, in 1632, John Kerrodg who was christened at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on September 15th 1679, and Walter Kerrod, who married Elizabeth Sully at St Martins in the Field, Westminster, on February 19th 1784.