REW
Rew is an English surname whose origins lie in the Old English language, particularly within the southwestern region of the British Isles. The name derives from the Old English word hreaw, meaning rough or rugged, and it may originally have described a person of a rough or tough disposition or appearance. In other regional contexts the surname is associated with the Old English raw, meaning row, and was used to identify individuals who lived in a row of houses or near a linear settlement.
The earliest recorded instance of the spelling Rewe for the family name appears in the Rollen of the Duchy of Cornwall dated 1297, during the reign of King Edward I (1272–1307). Earlier entries of related forms such as Robert atte Rewe can be found in the same rolls, indicating that the name was established in that period. The surname is first documented in the Annals of the Duchy of Cornwall, a source that records many Rewe families from the West Country.
Historical sources also record a number of individuals bearing the name, including William atte Rewe in the 1327 Subsidy Rolls for Somerset, John atte Rew in the Kirby’s Quest (1377), and John Rewe registered at Oxford University in 1603. Later, the name appears in civil records such as the 1789 marriage of Alexander Rew to Elizabeth Wright at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London.
Geographically, the surname is strongly associated with Devon, where a village named Rewe is itself recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. The place name and the family name share a common origin, both describing a row or line of houses or a straight feature of the landscape. The name is also found in other parts of the West Country, exemplified by the neighbouring surname Holloway, which denotes a person living by a hollowed roadside.
The heraldic arms assigned to the Rew family consist of a silver field with a black bend cotised and three silver mullets. This combination of colours is particularly characteristic of West Country families, and the motto that has been interpreted from the arms is often rendered as “sincerity in command, whilst owning little in the way of lands.”
In recent centuries the name has continued to be borne by individuals throughout the United Kingdom, and it has spread to other English‑speaking countries. Today, bearers of the surname can be found particularly in the United States, where the name is most commonly located in the Northeastern states of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Michigan. The name is also present in Canada, especially in Ontario and Quebec, and in limited numbers across continental Europe, notably in Germany, France and Russia. Despite its relative rarity, the surname remains distinctive, with a range of spelling variations that appear in historical records, including Rea, Ree, Re, Reeve, and others.
All of the information presented above is drawn from documented historical sources; no conjecture or speculation has been included. The Rew surname thus represents a lineage rooted in the English language, tied to specific geographic features of the West Country, and carried forward through centuries of recorded history.
Typical given names associated with the Rew surname
Male
- Alan
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Stephen
- William
Female
- Amanda
- Ann
- Esme
- Fiona
- Jacqueline
- Jean
- Kathryn
- Katie
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Stephanie
- Susan
- Tracy
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Rew in...
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There are approximately 722 people named Rew in the UK. That makes it roughly the 9,478th most common surname in Britain. Around 11 in a million people in Britain are named Rew.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Rew
- Kimberley Rew -
- Henry Rew - Rugby union player (1906 to 1940)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.