Ridge Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Ridge Family History

Ridge Family History

The family history of the ancient name Ridge was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Ridge include Rigg and Rigge. This is a locational name meaning 'at the ridge', from a residence on the rig or back of a hill. In North Lancashire and Cumberland this is a very familiar surname. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout the above islands. Examples of such are a Thomas de la Rigge, County Hantshire, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a Thomas Ridge and Jane Waters who were granted a marriage license, in London, in the year 1620. A branch of the family moved to Ireland where it is first found in records in the person of a John Ridge, who was a Clerk of the Council in Connaught, in the year 1619. The name is almost totally confined to County Galway or areas adjacent. The name appears regularly in records up to the 17th century but since that time has become less prominent.The Ridge family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Ridge descendants.