This is a locational name which derives from a village near Farnham in Surrey or from a now "lost" place in the Border County of Cumbria. The name means "the deers ridge" from the Olde Norse pre 7th Century "Ra" plus Olde English "Hyrdg". The modern name development includes the following recordings which are mainly in the London Area. Henry Rowlidge who married Ann Fellowes at St. Botolph Bishopsgate on April 12th 1666, Leonara Rulledge recorded at St. George in the East, Stepney in 1740 and Sarah Rowledge who married William Bayliss at St. Leonards, Shoreditch on 5th October 1789. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mary Rowledg, which was dated 1607 married Thomas Rawsonne, at St. Mary Somerset, during the reign of King James I, of England and VI of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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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