Ridgely
From a ridge or hill, a reference to geographical origins.
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the first name Ridgely. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 79.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Ridgely today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ridgely births was 2023 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ridgely. 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.
People living today
118
~ 1 in 2,904,698 Americans
Peak year
2023
10 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,914
Tracked since 1946
Gender
Gender distribution for Ridgely
Ridgely is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 134 total registrations, 106 (79.1%) were male and 28 (20.9%) were female.
Ridgely as a male name
- Ranked #12,000 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (10 births)
Ridgely as a female name
- Ranked #11,914 in 2020
- 8 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2017 (9 births)
Popularity
Ridgely: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ridgely from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 39 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
Ridgely 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 Ridgely during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ridgely
The given name Ridgely originates from the Old English language, derived from the words "hrycg" meaning ridge and "leah" meaning meadow or clearing. It was initially a surname in England, referring to a person who lived near a ridge or hillside meadow.
In the early Middle Ages, around the 8th to 10th centuries, the name began to appear in various records and documents across parts of England and the British Isles. Some early variations in spelling include Ridgeley, Ridgley, and Ridglie.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Ridgely de Risley, a Norman landowner recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, which surveyed landholdings across England after the Norman Conquest. This suggests the name had already been established in certain areas of England by that time.
During the medieval period, the name Ridgely was occasionally referenced in religious texts and chronicles, though it remained relatively uncommon compared to more popular given names of the era.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Ridgely Peckover (c. 1520 - 1585) was a wealthy merchant and landowner from Norfolk, England. He was involved in the wool trade and held influential positions in local government.
In the 17th century, Ridgely Owen (1649 - 1708) was a Welsh clergyman and author who published several theological works and served as the Archdeacon of St. Asaph.
The name gained some prominence in the American colonies, with Ridgely Roush (1711 - 1790), a Quaker settler and landowner in Pennsylvania, being one of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in the New World.
Another notable individual was Ridgely Goldsborough (1804 - 1864), a Maryland politician who served as the 21st Governor of Maryland from 1861 to 1864, during the American Civil War.
In the 19th century, Ridgely Brevoort (1822 - 1898) was an American author and journalist who published works on various topics, including travel and history.
While not an extremely common name, Ridgely has maintained a presence throughout history, with individuals bearing the name in various fields and professions across different time periods and regions.
People
Ridgely + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ridgely 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
Ridgely: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ridgely?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 118 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ridgely 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 2,904,698 US residents.
Is Ridgely a common name?
We classify Ridgely as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 134 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ridgely most popular?
The single biggest year for Ridgely was 2023, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ridgely is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ridgely a male name?
Yes, 79.1% of people registered as Ridgely 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.