Find out how popular the last name Ridgeway is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ridgeway.

Ridgeway, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ridgeway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ridgeway in America

Ridgeway is the 3960th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ridgeway surname appeared 8,975 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Ridgeway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ridgeway to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ridgeway

The surname Ridgeway is an English locational surname that originated in the Middle Ages. It derives from the Old English words "hrycg" meaning ridge and "weg" meaning way or path, referring to someone who lived near a prominent ridge or elevated path.

The name is believed to have first appeared in the counties of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, where ridges and hilltops were a notable feature of the landscape. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire from the late 12th century.

Variations of the spelling over time have included Riggewaie, Riggeway, and Ridgwaye, reflecting the regional dialects and phonetic shifts in pronunciation. In the 13th century Assize Court Rolls of Oxfordshire, a William de la Ruggewey is mentioned, using the Norman-French preposition to indicate someone from that place.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John Ridgeway, who was born around 1360 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. He was a prosperous landowner and served as a bailiff for the local manor.

An entry in the Domesday Book of 1086 refers to a landholding called "Ridgeway" in Buckinghamshire, suggesting the name's origins may predate the Norman Conquest.

Notable individuals with the Ridgeway surname include Sir Thomas Ridgeway (1565-1631), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1612. William Ridgeway (1853-1926) was a renowned archaeologist and anthropologist, best known for his work on the origins of metalworking in Europe.

Elizabeth Ridgeway (1717-1773) was a successful businesswoman and landowner in colonial Virginia, while Francis Ridgeway (1785-1864) was a British naval officer who served with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars.

William Stuart Ridgeway (1897-1973), an American mathematician, made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry and was awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize in 1972.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ridgeway

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ridgeway.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ridgeway was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ridgeway has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ridgeway was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ridgeway, please contact us.

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