Recorded in a number of spellings as shown below, this surname is English. Itprobably has severl possible origins of which the most likely may to derive from a place as shown below or from the pre 7th century personal name "Aedelric", a compound which translates as "noble ruler". As such this was 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 these developments included: Richardus Alurici,of Warwickshire in the year 1209; Robert Alrych of Huntingdonshire in 1279, and William Eldrich of Surrey in 1336. The modern spellings of the surname include such diverse fors as Aldrich, Aldrick, Aldridge, Alldridge, Allderidge, Elderidge, Eldridge, Elrick, Oldridge and even Oldred and Ouldred. Some of the surnames may also 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. This was dated 1275, in the "Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, 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.