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

Riggleman, 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 Riggleman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Riggleman in America

Riggleman is the 12927th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Riggleman surname appeared 2,378 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Riggleman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Riggleman 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 Riggleman

The surname Riggleman is believed to have originated in Germany, derived from the German word "Riegel," which means a latch or a bolt. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked as a locksmith or a maker of latches and bolts.

During the Middle Ages, many surnames emerged from occupations, and Riggleman likely followed this pattern. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 14th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Riggleman can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis," a collection of historical documents from Brandenburg, Germany, dating back to the 15th century. This manuscript mentions a certain "Hans Riggleman" who was a skilled locksmith in the town of Potsdam.

In the 16th century, the name Riggleman began to appear in various court records and legal documents across Germany. For instance, a certain "Johann Riggleman" was a prominent merchant in the city of Hamburg, born in 1534 and died in 1602.

As the name spread across Europe, it also took on various spellings and variations. In the Netherlands, the name was sometimes spelled as "Rijgelman" or "Rijkelman," while in France, it was written as "Riguelmann" or "Rigelman."

One notable figure with the surname Riggleman was Johann Riggleman, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1650 to 1723. He was a professor at the University of Heidelberg and published several influential works on ethics and metaphysics.

Another historical figure with the surname Riggleman was Friedrich Riggleman, a German military officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1778 and participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.

In the 19th century, as immigration to the United States increased, the Riggleman surname began to appear in American records. One of the earliest known individuals with this name in the United States was Jacob Riggleman, who was born in Germany in 1812 and immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1830s.

Throughout history, the Riggleman surname has been associated with various professions, including locksmiths, merchants, theologians, and military personnel. While the name may have originated from a specific occupation, it has since evolved and spread across different regions and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Riggleman

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!