This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "Aedelric", a personal compound which translates as "noble ruler", and is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Ailred, Aldret" and "Eldred". The surname was first recorded in the latter part of the 13th Century (see below), and later developments included: Richardus Alurici, in (1209, Warwickshire); Robert Alrych (1279, Huntingdonshire); and William Eldrich (1336, Surrey). There are no less than ten "modern" spellings of the surname, these are: Aldrich, Aldrick, Aldridge, Alldridge, Allderidge, Elderidge, Eldridge, Elrick and Oldridge. Some of the names may be locational from the Saxon villages of Aldridge in Staffordshire, and Aldridge Grove in Buckinghamshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Aldrich, which was dated 1275, in the "Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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