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    The surname Ridley

    An English surname, carried by 11,521 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈɹɪdli/ 2 syllables Soundex R340 Also a first name

    Ridley: #3,133 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Ridley #3,133, 11,521 people Ridley: #3,133 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Ridley #3,133, 11,521 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Ridley is more common than 98.1% of them.

    Origin

    English origin

    Place names in England, Old English hrēad (“reeds”) or rydde (“cleared land”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Thus, equivalent to reed or rid + -ley (“lea”).

    One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 11,521 people named Ridley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 26,799 Americans. That is up 3.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 11,099.

    #3,133
    rank among US surnames
    11,521
    people in 2010
    3.9
    per 100,000 Americans
    +3.8%
    change since 2000 (was #2,987)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #3,124Keeler11,54626,740
    #3,126Menard11,54326,747
    #3,127Ricci11,53426,768
    #3,128Burkholder11,53226,773
    #3,129Poindexter11,53126,775
    #3,130Coyne11,52526,789
    #3,132Ellington11,52226,796

    Who is named Ridley

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    51% of people named Ridley identified as white (not Hispanic), 42% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.2% as two or more races.

    • White (not Hispanic) 51%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 42%
    • Two or more races 3.2%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 1.5%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Ridleys

    5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Matt Ridley
      British author and journalist, born 1958
    • Nicholas Ridley
      Bishop of London; Anglican Saint, 1500–1555
    • John Ridley
      American writer and director, born 1964
    • Philip Ridley
      British artist and author, born 1964
    • Calvin Ridley
      American football player, born 1994

    Notable Ridleys come mostly from the United Kingdom (2), the United States (2) and the Kingdom of England (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Ridley

    Ridley has the Soundex code R340, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R340.

    Other English surnames

    All 1,446 English surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Ridley come from?
    Place names in England, Old English hrēad (“reeds”) or rydde (“cleared land”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Thus, equivalent to reed or rid + -ley (“lea”).
    How common is the surname Ridley?
    11,521 people in the United States had the surname Ridley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,799 Americans. It ranked 3,133rd of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Ridley?
    In the 2010 Census, 51% of people named Ridley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 42% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Ridley?
    Matt Ridley, British author and journalist, followed by Nicholas Ridley.
    Where is the surname Ridley most common?
    Wikidata records people named Ridley in the United Kingdom, the United States and the Kingdom of England.
    How do you pronounce Ridley?
    Ridley is /ˈɹɪdli/, 2 syllables.
    Is the surname Ridley getting more or less common?
    More common. 11,099 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,521 in 2010, up 3.8%.
    Is Ridley also a first name?
    Yes. Ridley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.