2000
#3,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,791
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.26
Rare Last name
Ridgeway
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a road or path on a hill ridge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,793 Americans carry the last name Ridgeway. That puts it at #4,035 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,000 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ridgeway surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ridgeway with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.8K
1 in 35,000
Census rank
#4,035
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,540 bearers of the surname Ridgeway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4035th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ridgeway, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ridgeway
Among Census respondents with the surname Ridgeway, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Ridgeway bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ridgeway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.7% · 6,121
- Black or African American18.5% · 1,577
- Two or more races4.9% · 416
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 265
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ridgeway
Ridgeway appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,960
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,975
+184 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 3.04
Rank movement Down 254 places
2020
#4,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,540
-435 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 2.86
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,706 | 8,791 | 3.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,960 | 8,975 | 3.04 | +184 bearers (+2.1%) | Down 254 places |
| 2020 | #4,035 | 8,540 | 2.86 | -435 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 75 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ridgeway surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,960 | #4,035 | -1.9% |
| Count | 8,975 | 8,540 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.04 | 2.86 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ridgeway bearers went from 8,975 to 8,540 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,960 to #4,035.
FAQ
Ridgeway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ridgeway?
Name Census estimates that about 9,793 living Americans carry the surname Ridgeway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,000 residents.
How common is Ridgeway?
Ridgeway ranks #4,035 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,540 people with the surname Ridgeway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,793), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Ridgeway.
Has Ridgeway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ridgeway went from 8,975 recorded bearers to 8,540. That is a decrease of 435 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,960 to #4,035.
What does the Census say about the background of Ridgeway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ridgeway, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ridgeway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (6,121 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ridgeway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.7%), Black (18.5%), Two or More Races (4.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ridgeway (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ridgeway mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a road or path on a hill ridge. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ridgeway (2.86 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Ridgeway?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.