Ridge
A masculine name derived from the English word for a long, narrow hill.
Name Census estimates that about 7,242 living Americans carry the first name Ridge. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ridge today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ridge births was 2023 (599 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ridge. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Ridge is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
7.2K
~ 1 in 47,329 Americans
Peak year
2023
599 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#528
Tracked since 1948
Gender
Gender distribution for Ridge
Out of the 7,337 babies given the name Ridge since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Ridge as a male name
- Ranked #528 in 2024
- 563 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (599 births)
Ridge as a female name
- Ranked #8,424 in 2022
- 13 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (13 births)
Popularity
Ridge: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ridge from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 2,671 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ridge by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Ridge during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ridges live
The SSA's state-level files cover 41 states and territories. Texas, Utah, Georgia recorded the most babies named Ridge, while New Mexico, Wyoming, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 130 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ridge
The given name Ridge is an English name derived from the Old English word "hrycg," which means "back" or "ridge." This name is believed to have originated in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 11th centuries, when Anglo-Saxons settled in Britain.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Ridge can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named Ridge de Cluny, who held estates in Somerset.
In the 12th century, the name Ridge appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, which were financial records of the English Exchequer. These rolls mention a man named Ridge de Strigule, who was a knight and landowner.
During the 13th century, Ridge was a relatively common name among English peasants and farmers. One notable bearer of the name was Ridge de Montemor, a soldier who fought in the Crusades and is mentioned in the chronicles of the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart.
In the 16th century, the name Ridge was associated with several notable figures. Ridge Wrey (1497-1557) was an English politician and courtier who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. Ridge Hawkins (1555-1622) was an English sea captain and explorer who participated in several voyages to the West Indies and the Americas.
Another famous bearer of the name Ridge was Ridge Blackmore (1725-1806), an English writer and novelist who is best known for his novel "Lorna Doone." This book, published in 1869, is set in the English countryside and features a character named John Ridd, whose nickname is "Ridge."
Throughout the centuries, the name Ridge has been used by various individuals from different walks of life, including artists, musicians, politicians, and military figures. It continues to be a popular name in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom.
People
Ridge + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ridge as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ridge: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ridge?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,242 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ridge going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 47,329 US residents.
Is Ridge a common name?
We classify Ridge as "Rare". It ranks above 97.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ridge most popular?
The single biggest year for Ridge was 2023, when 599 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ridge is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ridge a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Ridge in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.