ried

Ried is a German toponym and surname. The word derives from the Middle High German rîde, meaning a reed bed or reedy wetland, and by extension a place associated with reeds and water. As a place name, Ried typically indicates land near rivers, lakes, or marshy areas where reed vegetation was common.

The name is used for several localities in German-speaking regions, particularly in Austria and Germany. The most prominent example is Ried im Innkreis, a town in Upper Austria that serves as the administrative seat of the district of the same name. Beyond this, there are smaller villages and localities in various districts that bear the name Ried or include it as part of longer place names, reflecting historical landscape features rather than current land use.

In addition to its geographical use, Ried functions as a surname. As with many German toponyms, the surname likely originated from ancestors who lived near or owned land in a place called Ried.

Because Ried is a relatively common toponym, it appears in historical records, land registries, and regional descriptions across the Alpine and Central European German-speaking areas. The term continues to be encountered in modern addresses and geographic naming, often preserved in longer compound names tied to specific localities.