This surname ATHRIDGE was derived from the Old English name 'Aelfric' a baptismal name, dating to the 11th century. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066, and the first of the name on record is Aluric (without surname) listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. Early records of the name also mention Hugo Aelurici, 1090, County Suffolk. John filius Aldrich was recorded in County Yorkshire, 1273. William Ailriche, was documented in County Somerset, during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). Robertus Aldrich of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. John Aldryche was recorded as the bailiff of Yarmouth in the year 1469. Robert Aldrich of Aldridge, Buckinghamshire who died in 1556, was a scholar and divine. Peter Aldrich and Catherine Powell were married in London in the year 1609. The name was also a locational name from Aldridge Grove in Buckinghamshire or from a small spot in County Worcestershire, now extinct. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. The name has numerous variant spellings which include Aldrick, Aldrich, Alldridge, Alleridge, Elderidge and Elrick. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Registered at Ipswich and Oxfordshire