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

Riding, 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 Riding surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Riding in America

Riding is the 21470th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Riding surname appeared 1,217 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Riding.

We can also compare 2010 data for Riding 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 Riding

The surname RIDING has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "riding," which referred to an administrative district or a third part of a county. The name was likely adopted by someone who hailed from a particular riding or resided in one.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Ridinge." This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the surname RIDING was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of Yorkshire and Northumberland, where the traditional ridings were located. It is possible that some of the earliest bearers of the name were officials or administrators responsible for overseeing these administrative divisions.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the surname was John Riding, a clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Cleveland in Yorkshire from 1356 to 1363.

Another prominent individual with the RIDING surname was Sir Thomas Riding (1571-1635), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Northumberland during the reign of King James I.

The surname also appears in various historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries, including parish registers and tax rolls. For instance, the marriage of William Riding and Jane Smithe was recorded in the parish of Ripon, Yorkshire, in 1594.

In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the RIDING surname was Henry Riding (1714-1785), a successful merchant and landowner who owned estates in Yorkshire.

The surname RIDING has also been associated with several place names, such as Riding Mill in Northumberland and Riding Fen in Cambridgeshire, both of which likely derived their names from the presence of settlements or regions connected to the administrative divisions known as ridings.

Other notable individuals with the RIDING surname include William Riding (1766-1838), an English poet and clergyman, and Sir Alfred Riding (1878-1951), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) from 1927 to 1932.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Riding

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

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 Riding 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 Riding 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 Riding was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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