This colourful surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is locational from a place so called near Grantham, in Leicestershire. The placename is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "read", red, and the Olde English "mylde", from "molde", earth, soil, and means "(place with) red soil"; the second element is similar to the Swedish "mylla", mould, loose earth. The placename was first recorded as "Redmelde" in the Domesday Book of 1086, as "Redmilde" in the Assize Rolls of 1202, and as "Redmilde" in the Episcopal Registers of 1221. Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. The modern surname can be found as Redmile, Redmille, Redemile and Redmell. Recorded in the Leicestershire Church Registers are the marriages of Alice Redmile and Gillam Fontenson, on August 25th 1567 at Melton Mowbray, and of Edward Redmile and Dorothey Reve, on May 6th 1607 at Owston and Newbold. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elyzabeth Redmell, which was dated October 28th 1561, christened at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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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