The Reidy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,193 people carried this name — #7,896 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 70,400 people counted. That is up 1% from 4,159 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Reidy surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Riada (“descendant of Riada”), a personal name perhaps meaning "drover".

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Reidy» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 49 births for the Reidy name in 1890.

Most were registered in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,200 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 45
Connacht 2
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

139 people named Reidy live in Switzerland.

They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Fribourg.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Fribourg 63
Aargau 19
Bern 16
Geneva 13
Zurich 11
Basel-Landschaft 6
St. Gallen 6
Zug 5

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

20 people named Reidy is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 20

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Reidy in American newspapers,
1864–1915.

Newspaper page from Dollar Weekly Mirror And New Hampshire Journal Of Agriculture carrying the name Reidy
Dollar Weekly Mirror And New Hampshire Journal Of Agriculture 1864-11-05
Newspaper page from The Milwaukee Leader carrying the name Reidy
The Milwaukee Leader 1915-10-28
Newspaper page from Dollar Weekly Mirror And New Hampshire Journal Of Agriculture carrying the name Reidy
Dollar Weekly Mirror And New Hampshire Journal Of Agriculture 1864-10-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 31,310 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Reidy in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

24,581 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Reidy. The most, 8,073, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 4.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 11,305
New South Wales 5,313
Victoria 4,362
Western Australia 1,471
Tasmania 1,124
Queensland 916
ACT (Canberra) 70
Northern Territory 11

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Reidy.

Who carried it

People named Reidy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bill Reidy
    Bill Reidy 1873–1915 · baseball player
  • Peter Reidy
    Peter Reidy 1874–1932 · politician
  • Peter Reidy
    Peter Reidy 1874–1932 · politician
  • Mary Anne Reidy
    Mary Anne Reidy 1880–1977 · nurse
  • Lilla Reidy 1858–1933 · painter
  • John Reidy 1877–1910 · hurler

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Reidy,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,258 records

1,258 records of the Reidy name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 381
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 346
  • Other U.S. records 531
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John M. Reidy

    Born 1900 in Illinois. Enlisted 1941 at Fort McDowell Angel Island, California; cook. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War I; died 1984, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Martin John Reidy

    Born 1947; from Independence, Iowa. U.S. Marine Corps, ammunition technician; died in an accident 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget Reidy

    Arrived at New York in 1858 aboard the Harvest Queen from Liverpool, aged 24; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,258 records for Reidy in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia522 records

522 records of the Reidy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 249
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 162
  • Other Australian records 111
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Reidy

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Waverley, sailing from Dublin in 1842. Native of Clare. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Agnes Lucretia Reidy

    Born 1860 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1882 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas P. Reidy

    Died 1880 in Tasmania, aged 52. Will registered in Tasmania in 1880.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 522 records for Reidy in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand15 records

15 records of the Reidy name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 13
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Joseph Reidy

    Died 1924, aged 68; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Reidy

    Buried in 1974 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 61.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Reidy

    Died 1944, aged 80; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 15 records for Reidy in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Reidy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Other Canadian records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Allan Reidy

    Died 1944; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary J. Reidy

    Died 1927 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record M. Reidy

    Manitoba Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Reidy in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Reidy name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record P. Reidy

    Driver, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. J. Reidy

    Captain. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Reidy in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Ireland2 records

2 records of the Reidy name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Finbar Reidy

    Died 1982, aged 57; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Christina Reidy

    Died 1997; buried at Labane, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Reidy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Reidy is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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