Rea Family History

English: from a misdivision of the Middle English phrase atter ye ‘at the island’ (Old English ēg īeg). The surname may be topographic for someone who lived on an island or patch of firm ground surrounded by marsh or habitational from a place so named such as Rye (Sussex), The Rye in High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire), Rye Hill in Epping Upland (Essex), Rye Mill in Feering (Essex), and Rye House in Stanstead Abbots (Hertfordshire).

Alternatively, the name may also arise from a misdivision of the Middle English phrase atter eye ‘at the river’ (Old English ēa) and may also be topographic for someone who lived near a river or stream or habitational from a place so named such as Rea in Hempsted (Gloucestershire), Ray Lodge in Lingfield (Surrey), and Rye Farm in Cranleigh (Surrey). Due to the similarity of Middle English forms, it is now impossible to distinguish between the two explanations. See also Nye.

English: post-medieval form of Wray. English: variant of Ray. Scottish: shortened and altered form of McRae.

Irish: from Riabhach, described as an adjectival surname (meaning ‘gray’ or ‘brindled’) that replaced a hereditary one.

Italian: from the male personal name Rea, a short form of Andrea. Compare Reo. Italian: from the feminine form of the nickname Reo.