The Rigdon surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,145 people carried this name — #6,586 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,500 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,109 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Rigdon surname

Apparently an altered spelling of Rigden.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rigdon» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

18 families named Rigdon, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 109 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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 10
Pennsylvania 5
North Carolina 2
South 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

Rigdon in American newspapers,
1897.

Newspaper page from The Sea Coast Echo carrying the name Rigdon
The Sea Coast Echo 1897-06-12
Newspaper page from The Houma Courier carrying the name Rigdon
The Houma Courier 1897-04-10
Newspaper page from The Colfax Chronicle carrying the name Rigdon
The Colfax Chronicle 1897-04-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,013 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Rigdon in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1940s.

75 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Rigdon. The most, 13, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 30
Victoria 25
Queensland 9
Tasmania 6
South Australia 3
Western Australia 2

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

Who carried it

People named Rigdon,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sidney Rigdon
    Sidney Rigdon 1793–1876 · editor
  • Elmer S. Rigdon
    Elmer S. Rigdon 1868–1922 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 6 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Rigdon,
in the records of 3 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 States245 records

245 records of the Rigdon name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 168
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 68
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Glenn W. Rigdon

    Born 1918 in Oregon. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; office clerk from Multnomah County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1972, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    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 Ronald Michael Rigdon

    Born 1952; from Waldo, Florida. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1971 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    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 Charles W. Rigdon

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Servia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 41; real estate agent. Bound for Chicago.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 245 records for Rigdon in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data). 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).

Australia11 records

11 records of the Rigdon name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Rigdon

    Died 1890 in Esperance, Tasmania, aged 66.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Rigdon

    Left Launceston in 1851 aboard the City of Melbourne, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Rigdon

    Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 33.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Rigdon in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Rigdon name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Rigdon

    The Buffs (East Kent Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Rigdon.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Rigdon 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 Rigdon volume
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