This is a surname of some controversy. Recorded in several spellings including Reid, generally held to be Scottish, Read, Reade, Reed, Red and Redd, it has at least three possible origins. Firstly, the surname may derive from the Olde English pre 7th century word "read" meaning red, and as such was probably nationalistic for an Anglo-Saxon, as these people were often red haired or had a ruddy complexion. Early examples from this source may include William Red in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Gloucestershire in 1176, and Gilbert le Rede of Coul, Scotland in 1296. The second possibility is that the name is locational from various places such as Read in the county of Lancashire, from the Olde English word "roegheafod", meaning the land occupied by deer, or Rede in Suffolk, deriving from the word "hreod", meaning reeds as grown in a river; or the village of Reed in Hertfordshire, from the word "ryht", meaning brushwood. Ralph de Rede is recorded in the Curia Regis rolls of Hertfordshire in the year 1203. The final suggestion is that the name is topographical from the Olde English "ried" and describes somebody who lived in a clearing. Roger de la Rede is noted in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire in the year 1208. Joseph Reid (1843 - 1917), born in Ayrshire, was the inventor of the Reid oil burner, which did so much to advance the oil industry in the United States. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Leofwine se Reade. This was dated 1016 in the records known as the "Olde English Bynames for the county of Kent", during the reign of King Canute, 1016 - 1035. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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I know the Reid's of Scotland fall under the Robertson clan and use the coat of arms for that family .The Duncan and Reid's are the most common sept's within the Robertson clan or Clann Dhonnchaidh as it is know in Scot Gaelic. I believe the coat of arms you have on display are for the English side there is also a Irish one as well . I know for my Reid family we married into the Robertson clan .Smaller clans often married into bigger clans to seek protection .Hope my ramblings have helped a little

Regard
Bruce

It is a scottish name meaning red. The traveled from Scotland to ireland in the 1600's. I have many Reids in my Ancestry

WALKER, REID, PATON
I too have REID ancestry, all from around CUMBERNAULD, DNB, Scotland and New Monkland, LKS, Scotland. My gt gt grandfather David WALKER b 1809 Cumbernauld, DNB, Scotland d 1878 Cumbernauld, married Jean "Janet" REID b 1814 Dumbarton, DNB, Scotland, d 1879. One of their younger children, Agnes WALKER and her stationmaster husband Thomas PATON married in Airdrie, LKS in 1873, had 4 daughters, then emigrated to New Zealand in 1878 so that's how we ended up here in NZ. We have gone back many generations in our WALKER family of CUMBERNAULD, but not much on the REID line. Jean REID's father was John REID b 1769 Carmunnock, LKS and wethink he died in Edinburgh in July 1841. His wife was Anne STEVEN, b abt 1780 but don't know where. She died after the 1851 census and before the 1861 census. Their daughter Jean REID and David WALKER named one of their daughters Annie Steven WALKER b 1851 d 1887 in Cumbernauld, DNB, Scotland.