Ripple last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Ripple

An occupational surname referring to someone who lived near a small brook or stream, or worked as a seller of fish.

Ripple, 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 Ripple surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ripple in America

Ripple is the 11469th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ripple surname appeared 2,745 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 Ripple.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ripple 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 11469 10851 5.54%
Count 2,745 2,696 1.80%
Proportion per 100k 0.93 1.00 -7.25%

The history of the last name Ripple

The surname Ripple originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "rippl," which means a small stream or a body of water with a disturbed surface. This name was likely first used as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived near a rippling brook or stream.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Ripple surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a John Ripple is mentioned. The surname also appears in various other historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire and the Hearth Tax Returns of Gloucestershire.

The Ripple surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Yorkshire, where many early bearers of the name were landowners or resided near bodies of water. Some of the earliest recorded place names associated with the surname include Ripple in Worcestershire and Ripley in Yorkshire.

One notable individual with the Ripple surname was William Ripple, a wealthy merchant and landowner from Worcester who lived in the late 15th century. He was known for his philanthropic efforts and contributed funds towards the construction of several churches and charitable institutions in the region.

Another historically significant bearer of the Ripple name was John Ripple, a Protestant martyr from Gloucestershire who was executed during the reign of Queen Mary I in 1556 for his religious beliefs.

In the 17th century, the Ripple surname was also found in the American colonies, with early immigrants such as Samuel Ripple, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1682, and Thomas Ripple, who arrived in Virginia in 1635.

Other notable individuals with the Ripple surname throughout history include:

  1. Sir Geoffrey Ripple (1560-1628), an English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
  2. Mary Ripple (1698-1771), a Quaker settler in Pennsylvania known for her advocacy of women's rights and education.
  3. John Ripple (1803-1870), a British architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in London, including the Royal Opera House.
  4. Ezra Ripple (1851-1920), an American inventor and engineer who patented several innovative farming tools and machinery.
  5. Constance Ripple (1879-1957), a British artist and illustrator renowned for her depictions of rural English life and landscapes.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ripple

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

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 Ripple was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.72% 2,600
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.69% 19
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.20% 33
Hispanic Origin 2.73% 75

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 Ripple has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.72% 95.47% -0.79%
Black (S)% 1.41% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.69% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.20% 1.52% -23.53%
Hispanic 2.73% 1.15% 81.44%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ripple, 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!

"Ripple last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 8, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ripple-surname-popularity/.

"Ripple last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ripple-surname-popularity/. Accessed 8 November, 2024

Ripple last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ripple-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.