posted 06-17-2003 08:23 PM            

It seems most likely that the name has its principle root in Norse from which it spread via two routes into English usage, one via the western British Isles through Gaelic Irish; the other via European mainland countries of Germany to Normandy and then into England.

"Reynolds" as a family name is principally of Irish origin - "McRaghnail" and "Raghnall" but with Norse roots.

In England, "Willelmus filius Rainaldi" is recorded in the Domesday book of 1086. Other versions of the name in England include "Randal" and "Reginald". The English use of the name has it's origins from Normandy (now part of France) in the form "Reinald". This in turn is thought to originate from Old German, "Raginald" or "Ragionwald" meaning "counsel-might".

posted 06-17-2003 08:52 PM            

This site says that the Irish Reynolds and English Reynolds have no connection. The Irish version being traceable to earlier than 500 BC; the English version originating from the Nordic.