The Ridgway surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,429 people carried this name — #6,291 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 54,300 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,349 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Ridgway 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

Ridgway 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 the first U.S. census, 1790

44 families named Ridgway, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 268 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Maryland 16
Virginia 8
Massachusetts 7
Pennsylvania 5
South Carolina 4
New York 3
North Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 259 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Ridgway in American newspapers,
1903–1912.

Newspaper page from The Ekalaka Eagle carrying the name Ridgway
The Ekalaka Eagle 1912-07-26
Newspaper page from The Ekalaka Eagle carrying the name Ridgway
The Ekalaka Eagle 1912-07-19
Newspaper page from Hilo Tribune carrying the name Ridgway
Hilo Tribune 1903-02-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 49,877 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Ridgway in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

19,248 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ridgway. The most, 4,105, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 6,751
Western Australia 3,763
Victoria 3,595
Queensland 2,503
New South Wales 2,314
Tasmania 267
ACT (Canberra) 26
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Ridgway,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jacob Ridgway
    Jacob Ridgway 1768–1843 · businessperson
  • Margaret Ridgway d. 2015 · social worker
  • Thomas Ridgway d. 1939
  • Arthur Ridgway d. 1943
  • Elizabeth Ridgway d. 1766
  • Henry Ridgway 1717–1763

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 Ridgway,
in the records of 6 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 States526 records

526 records of the Ridgway name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 210
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 126
  • Other U.S. records 190
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John G. Ridgway

    Born 1916 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Bliss El Paso, Texas; cook from Woods County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joshua Ridgway

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Scythia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 25; laborer. From Liverpool, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Maurice D. Ridgway

    Born 1930; from Austin County, Texas. U.S. Army, wheel vehicle repairman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 526 records for Ridgway in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia365 records

365 records of the Ridgway name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 175
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 109
  • Other Australian records 81
  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 John Ridgway

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Atlas, arriving 1819; certificate of freedom 1841.

    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 R. Green Ridgway

    Arrived in Victoria in 1885 aboard the Brenhilda, aged 21; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Ridgway

    Farmer of Kilcunda, Victoria; died 1939.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 365 records for Ridgway in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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).

Canada34 records

34 records of the Ridgway name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 24
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • Other Canadian records 7
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Josephine Leung Ridgway

    Died 1994, aged 61; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Maud Ridgway

    Died 1923 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  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 Arnold Ridgway

    Died in service in 1942.

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

Showing 3 of 34 records for Ridgway in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom25 records

25 records of the Ridgway name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 22
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Allen James Ridgway

    Will proved in 1931; of Swansea.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Samuel Ridgway

    Buried in 1848 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 63.

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

    Royal Flying Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 25 records for Ridgway in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · 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: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); 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).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Ridgway name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alice Ridgway

    Died 1975, aged 72; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Henry Ridgway

    Died 1975; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Ridgway name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Mortimer Ridgway

    Died 1960 in Rotterdam, aged 58.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Emely Ridgway

    In a population register; born 1869 in North Crawley.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

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 Ridgway.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Ridgway.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Ridgway 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.

See the Ridgway volume
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