This name is of English loational origin from a place in Gloucestershire called Rudhall. The name derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal byname Rudda, from 'rud(ig)' meaning 'red' or 'ruddy', plus 'halh', a nook, recess or remote valley, hence, 'Rudda's Valley'. The surname is well recorded in Gloucestershire church registers from the mid 16th Century, (see below). On July 27th 1609 Jane Rudhall and William Roberts were married at Bishops Cleeve, Gloucestershire. On April 17th 1674 William Rudall, an infant, was christened in St. Botolph's, Bishopgate, London and on February 13th 1746 Charles, son of Abell Rudall, was christened in St. Mary de Crypt, Gloucestershire. In the 'modern' idiom the name is also spelt Ruddel(l) and Ruddle. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ysabell Ruddhall married John Asshe, which was dated June 22nd 1553 in Dymock, Gloucestershire, during the reign of King Edward VI, The Boy King, 1547 - 1553. 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.