The Ritchie surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 29,040 people carried this name — #1,217 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,200 people counted. That is up 2% from 28,397 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Ritchie surname

A surname transferred from the given name.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Richard’.

His entry covers Ritchie, Richey and Richie.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 648 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 24 births for the Ritchie name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 22
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 94 people named Ritchie live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Chubut.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Chubut 55
Buenos Aires Province 26
City of Buenos Aires 13

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

33 people named Ritchie live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 12
Geneva 8
Zurich 6
St. Gallen 4
Zug 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 25 people named Ritchie.

Most of them — 17 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Oise.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 17
Oise 3
Paris 2
Alpes-Maritimes 1
Nord 1
Yvelines 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Scotland, 1880s

Ritchie was 28 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 357. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Found over a large part of Scotland, but rare in the north.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 593 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Ritchie was recorded 284 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 61st most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 453. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Ritchie in American newspapers,
1846–1901.

Newspaper page from The Mississippi Creole carrying the name Ritchie
The Mississippi Creole 1848-08-18
Newspaper page from The New Hampshire Gazette carrying the name Ritchie
The New Hampshire Gazette 1846-04-14
Newspaper page from The St. Mary Banner carrying the name Ritchie
The St. Mary Banner 1901-12-14

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,661 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Ritchie in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2000s.

118,327 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ritchie. The most, 19,755, date from the 1930s. 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 Tasmania, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 38,836
Victoria 30,019
South Australia 16,961
Tasmania 16,249
Queensland 10,705
Western Australia 4,716
ACT (Canberra) 455
Northern Territory 47

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

Who carried it

People named Ritchie,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Elizabeth Ritchie
    Elizabeth Ritchie 1754–1835 · writer
  • William Ritchie
    William Ritchie 1756–1834
  • William Ritchie
    William Ritchie 1781–1831 · journalist
  • Alexander Handyside Ritchie
    Alexander Handyside Ritchie 1804–1870 · sculptor
  • John William Ritchie
    John William Ritchie 1808–1890 · judge

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 189 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Ritchie,
in the records of 7 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 States3,111 records

3,111 records of the Ritchie name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 994
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 558
  • Other U.S. records 1,559
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James J. Ritchie

    Born 1925 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; checker from Bronx County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1993, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Herman Hiram Ritchie

    Born 1935; from Okmulgee, Oklahoma. U.S. Air Force; killed in action 1966 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Ritchie

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the Furnessia from Glasgow and Moville, aged 25; servant. From Glasgow, Scotland.

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

Showing 3 of 3,111 records for Ritchie in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia3,384 records

3,384 records of the Ritchie name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,775
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 689
  • Other Australian records 920
  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 Catherine Ritchie

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mexborough, sailing from Dublin in 1841. Native of Derry. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844. Married 1844 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Ritchie

    Died 1851 in Longford, Tasmania, aged 62. Will registered in Tasmania in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Ritchie

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Marlborough, aged 55; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,384 records for Ritchie 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada1,048 records

1,048 records of the Ritchie name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 747
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 87
  • Other Canadian records 214
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alex Ritchie

    Came to Ontario in 1872 aboard the Sarmatian, landing at Quebec, bound for Thornhill, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Isabella Blanche Ritchie

    Buried in 1977 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 83.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jessie Ritchie

    Died 1987, aged 87; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 1,048 records for Ritchie in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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 Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom320 records

320 records of the Ritchie name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 168
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 73
  • Other British records 79
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record George Ritchie

    Born 1895 at Archiestown; farm servant. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ritchie

    Died 1998, aged 87; buried at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Mary Paton Ritchie

    Will proved in 1941; of Mold, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 320 records for Ritchie in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (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: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand94 records

94 records of the Ritchie name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 75
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 8
  • Other New Zealand records 11
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George William Ritchie

    Died 1926, aged 21; buried at Bromley 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 Stanley Bruce Ritchie

    Died 1972, aged 53; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Amy Edith Ritchie

    Buried in 1918 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 30.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 94 records for Ritchie in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands81 records

81 records of the Ritchie name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 47
  • Dutch population registers 27
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 7
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Hilda Ritchie

    Born 1908 in Rotterdam. Died 1936 in Made en Drimmelen.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Paulina Margaretha Helena Ritchie

    Born 1889 in Maastricht. Died 1960 in Zwolle, aged 71.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Alexander Ritchie

    Born 1834 in Middelburg. Married in 1864 in Vlissingen; shopkeeper. Died 1866 in Middelburg, aged 32; commission agent.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 81 records for Ritchie in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France7 records

7 records of the Ritchie name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Henri Jean Ritchie

    Born 1911 in Chantilly (Oise); died 1977 in Eaubonne (Val-d'Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Liliane Denise Ritchie

    Born 1932 in Chantilly; died 2000 in Creil (Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 7 records for Ritchie in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Ritchie.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Ritchie 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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