The Ridgeway surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,975 people carried this name — #3,960 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 32,900 people counted. That is up 2% from 8,791 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Ridgeway surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the ridge-way’.

An early record he cites: Lucia atte Rugewey, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

His entry covers Ridgway and Ridgeway.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 646 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Ridgeway was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Buckinghamshire: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Ridgeway and Ridgway.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Buckinghamshire 20
Cheshire 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Ridgeway in American newspapers,
1874–1922.

Newspaper page from New Orleans Republican carrying the name Ridgeway
New Orleans Republican 1874-05-03
Newspaper page from The Columbus Dispatch carrying the name Ridgeway
The Columbus Dispatch 1922-01-25
Newspaper page from New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union carrying the name Ridgeway
New Hampshire Farmer And Weekly Union 1908-01-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 71,970 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Ridgeway in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

10,566 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ridgeway. The most, 2,608, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 4,769
New South Wales 1,866
Queensland 1,354
Western Australia 1,136
South Australia 1,003
Tasmania 382
ACT (Canberra) 36
Northern Territory 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ridgeway.

Who carried it

People named Ridgeway,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles Ridgeway
    Charles Ridgeway 1841–1927 · Anglican priest
  • West Ridgeway
    West Ridgeway 1844–1930 · politician
  • Elizabeth Ridgeway d. 1684
  • Don L. Ridgeway d. 2020
  • John Ridgeway 1517–1560 · politician
  • Thomas Ridgeway, 1st Earl of Londonderry 1566–1631 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Ridgeway,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States623 records

623 records of the Ridgeway name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 277
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 118
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 98
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 51
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 20
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 14
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles F. Ridgeway

    Born 1907 in Maryland. Enlisted 1942 at Baltimore; shoe factory worker from Baltimore City. U.S. Army veteran; died 1965, buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert E. Ridgeway

    Born 1930; from Orleans County, Louisiana. U.S. Army, armorer; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Ridgeway

    Arrived at New York in 1847 aboard the Oxford from Liverpool, aged 30; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 623 records for Ridgeway in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia186 records

186 records of the Ridgeway name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 94
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 49
  • Tasmanian Names Index 20
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 14
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 7
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Ridgeway

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Waterloo, arriving 1833.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elizabeth Ridgeway

    Arrived in Queensland in 1899 aboard the Zaida, aged 25.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William B. Ridgeway

    Gentleman of Kew, Victoria; died 1955.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 186 records for Ridgeway in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada66 records

66 records of the Ridgeway name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 55
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 4
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record George Ridgeway

    Killed in 1915 at the Springhill No. 3 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Emily May Ridgeway

    Buried in 1925 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 51.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Harry Ridgeway

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 66 records for Ridgeway in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the Ridgeway name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Ridgeway

    Buried in 1827 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 20.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. F. Ridgeway

    Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Ridgeway

    Buried in 1820 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 33.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 7 records for Ridgeway in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Ridgeway.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Ridgeway.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Ridgeway is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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