Originally Reid was a nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion. Reid comes from Older Scots term of reid which means ‘red’. There is also a topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing. That is from an Old English term which mean ‘woodland clearing’.

The Reid name is regularly found in northern England, Scotland and Ireland. In England the county of Lancashire has the higher population of Reid families. In Scotland the Reid families are in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Midlowthian counties.

The states highly populated with Reid families include New York, Illinois and Georgia. Many other southern states also have numerous Reid families.

In the 1880s most Reid families were farmers.

Famous: Alan Reid (professional footballer), Brandon Reid (professional ice hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks), Hugo Reid (19thcentury Scottish-born early Los Angeles, California settler and writer), Kerry Reid (Australian tennis player ), Ellis Vair Reid (Canadian World War One pilot), George C. Reid (American Medal of Honor recipient), Wallace Reid (early 20thcentury silent film actor), Reuben Reid (English soccer player), Gordon Reid (Scottish actor), Tara Reid (actress), Thomas Mayne Reid (19th century Irish-American novelist) and David Reid (amateur welterweight champion boxer).