Recorded in various spelling forms including Rastrick, Raistrick and Restick, this is an English locational surname. It originates from the village of Rastrick, a former Viking settlement between the towns of Huddersfield and Brighouse in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Taken from the pre 7th century Norse word "hreysi" meaning burial ground, and the "wic" a dairy farm, even today in the 20th century the village still retains its distinctive and easily visible burial mound, behind the cricket ground. Location names were usually given to former inhabitants who moved to another area, the further they moved, generally the more corrupted the spelling. he first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Katerina Rastrike. This was dated 1379, in the Poll Tax records of the county of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Richard 11nd of England, 1378 - 1399. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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