Norwich

Recorded as Noridge, Norridge, Norwich, Northridge, and possibly others, this is an English surname. As to where it actually originates from, or whether it originates from a variety of places is uncertain. The earliest recording is believed to be that of William de Northerugg in the county of Sussex in the Subsidy tax rolls of 1332. This recording suggests that a place called Northridge once existed in that county, although if this was the case, it certainly has not been for many centuries. Various suggestions have been made that this surname could be a dialectal or slang form of the city of Norwich. This is quite possible as the city is first recorded in the year 930 a.d. as Nordwic. The Oxford Dictionary of English place names gives a translation as North Town, although this first recording would clearly suggest that it means the farm (wic) to the north (of the main settlement). Finally for some name holders at least, the surname could originate from a now "lost" medieval place once called Norridge in the parish of Upton Scudamore in Wiltshire. This Norridge is recorded in the place names list for that county in the year 1203 as Northrigge, and does clearly mean the north ridge.