Ridgeway
A topographic surname for someone who lived by a ridge road or along a raised way.
The #3,960 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,401 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ridgeway is a habitational or topographic surname built from English "ridge" plus "way." The first element refers to a ridge or raised strip of land; in some surname explanations, it can also point to an old ridge-top track or Roman road. Taken literally, the name means "one who lived by the ridge road" or "by the way on the ridge."
History
Historical sources note early spellings such as Ridgeway, Rydgewaye, and Rudgway, showing the name’s long-standing English local form. Lower also associated the surname with places called Ridgeway in Devonshire, though he said the exact source place was unclear. The name appears in English records by the 16th century and later became established in parts of England and Ireland, including families that rose to prominence in the peerage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Baring-Gould noted that surnames like Ridgeway often began as labels for someone living "at the ridgeway" and then became fixed family names.
From the historical record
“tion ER. RIDGEWAY. The extinct baronet family, created Lords Londonderry in Ire- land, traced their pedigree to 6. Edw. IV., when Stephen Ridgeway was one of the stewards of the city of Exeter. There are two places in Devonshire called Ridgeway, one near Honiton, and the other near Ply- mouth, but from which of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom