Raeside

Recorded in several spellling forms of which the most popular are Raeside and Reside, this is an ancient Scottish surname. It is locational from a 'lost' area formerly known as 'The lands of Rysyid', and believed to have been in the county of Ayrshire, or possibly the River Rae in Dumfriessshire. Certainly all the early recordings of the surname are from the region on the south west coast of Scotland. Surnames from 'lost' places are a phenomenon of the British surname scene, and it is estimated that as many as 5000 surnames originate from villages, hamlets, or even single dwellings. The only reminder in the 20th century is usually the surname itself, often in some unusual spellings. In this case early examples of the surname recordings include: James Rysyid, a merchant of the town of Ayr in about 1620. He is believed to have been the son of a William Rysyid, who was resident in Ayr before the year 1606. By the mid 17th century the name spelling had simplified to Rasyd, John Raysd being baillie of Cunynghame in 1659. The first recordings in anything like the 'modern' spellings would seem to be David Raesyd of Huntarstoune in 1680, and David Resside of Kilbarchan in 1767.