Reia meaning | Last name Reia origin

The variation of Rae. Either the Gaelic Mac Rae, deprived of its prefix; or rae, the Scottish form of roe, a deer. Ru, probably with the latter meaning, is found in Anglo-Saxon times, as a Christian name.

The lastname is form of Rea. Dweller at, or near, the Rea meaning "river," the name of several rivers in England.

Family name is the variant of the Rae. Variant of Ray, i.e., descendant of Ray, a pet form of Raymond meaning "wise, protection".

Reia is variation of the Rea. See Ray, and Rae - The estate of Gill, in the parish of Bromfield, county of Cumberland, belonged to the family of Reay, or Ray, from the time of William the Lion, king of Scotland, who died in 1214. Tradition says, that the original Ray was a faithful adherent of the Scottish monarch, by whom he was greatly esteemed, for his extraordinary swiftness of foot in pursuing the deer (which, like that of the Homeric hero, ποδας ωκυς Αχιλλευς, exceeded that of most horsemen and dogs) and who gave him the estate. The tenure was by a pepper-corn rent, with the stipulation, that the name of William should be perpetuated in the family. This was strictly observed from generation to generation, until the latter half of the last century, when the Mr. William Reay in possession gave to the 'hope of the house' the name of John. From these Reays have sprung most, if not all, the Rays, Wreys, and Wrays, in England. John Ray, the naturalist, originally wrote himself Wray, and his ancestors, who but a generation or two before had emigrated from Cumberand, spelt their name indifferently Wray or Wrey. The surname itself was probably borrowed from the sobriquet of William the Lion's fleet-footed vassal, Ra, or rua, being the Anglo-Saxon, and rae the Lowland Scottish for a roe. The fish called a ray was so named after the great naturalist.

Surname Reia is a variant form of the Reay. See under Ray - The estate of Gill, in the parish of Bromfield, county of Cumberland, belonged to the family of Reay, or Ray, from the time of William the Lion, king of Scotland, who died in 1214. Tradition says, that the original Ray was a faithful adherent of the Scottish monarch, by whom he was greatly esteemed, for his extraordinary swiftness of foot in pursuing the deer (which, like that of the Homeric hero, ποδας ωκυς Αχιλλευς, exceeded that of most horsemen and dogs) and who gave him the estate. The tenure was by a pepper-corn rent, with the stipulation, that the name of William should be perpetuated in the family. This was strictly observed from generation to generation, until the latter half of the last century, when the Mr. William Reay in possession gave to the 'hope of the house' the name of John. From these Reays have sprung most, if not all, the Rays, Wreys, and Wrays, in England. John Ray, the naturalist, originally wrote himself Wray, and his ancestors, who but a generation or two before had emigrated from Cumberand, spelt their name indifferently Wray or Wrey. The surname itself was probably borrowed from the sobriquet of William the Lion's fleet-footed vassal, Ra, or rua, being the Anglo-Saxon, and rae the Lowland Scottish for a roe. The fish called a ray was so named after the great naturalist

The Reays of Scotland, however, more probably sprang from Reay, a parish in the shires of caithness and Sutherland.