NameCensus.

UK surname

Riggs

Derived from the Old English word "hrycg," meaning a ridge or high ground, and likely referred to someone who lived near a ridge.

In the 1881 census there were 990 people recorded with the Riggs surname, ranking it #3,941 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,656, ranked #3,766, up from #3,941 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Poole St James, London parishes and Blandford Town, Pimperne. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include North Dorset, Poole and Wiltshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Riggs is 1,722 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 67.3%.

1881 census count

990

Ranked #3,941

Modern count

1,656

2016, ranked #3,766

Peak year

1998

1,722 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Riggs had 990 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #3,941 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,656 in 2016, ranked #3,766.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,628 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Riggs surname distribution map

The map shows where the Riggs surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Riggs surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Riggs over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 721 #3,633
1861 historical 753 #3,632
1881 historical 990 #3,941
1891 historical 1,207 #3,553
1901 historical 1,379 #3,645
1911 historical 1,628 #2,987
1997 modern 1,666 #3,568
1998 modern 1,722 #3,599
1999 modern 1,714 #3,638
2000 modern 1,652 #3,735
2001 modern 1,628 #3,715
2002 modern 1,703 #3,645
2003 modern 1,653 #3,664
2004 modern 1,624 #3,723
2005 modern 1,586 #3,751
2006 modern 1,596 #3,748
2007 modern 1,609 #3,749
2008 modern 1,638 #3,724
2009 modern 1,679 #3,723
2010 modern 1,697 #3,767
2011 modern 1,692 #3,719
2012 modern 1,637 #3,763
2013 modern 1,648 #3,810
2014 modern 1,668 #3,789
2015 modern 1,664 #3,762
2016 modern 1,656 #3,766

Geography

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Where Riggs' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Poole St James, London parishes, Blandford Town, Pimperne, Dorchester Holy Trinity, Fordington and Milton Abbas, Winterbourne Whitechurch, Owermoigne, Cheselborne. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to North Dorset, Poole and Wiltshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Poole St James Dorset
2 London parishes London 3
3 Blandford Town, Pimperne Dorset
4 Dorchester Holy Trinity, Fordington Dorset
5 Milton Abbas, Winterbourne Whitechurch, Owermoigne, Cheselborne Dorset

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 North Dorset 007 North Dorset
2 North Dorset 006 North Dorset
3 Poole 008 Poole
4 Wiltshire 054 Wiltshire
5 Wiltshire 050 Wiltshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Riggs

These lists show first names that appear often with the Riggs surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Riggs

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Riggs, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Riggs surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Riggs household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Riggs is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Riggs is most concentrated in decile 4 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Riggs falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Riggs is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Riggs, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Riggs

The surname Riggs has its origins in the northern English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, where it emerged as a locational name derived from the Old English word "hrycg," meaning "ridge." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name likely hailed from a place situated on or near a prominent ridge.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de Rigges," referring to a landowner in Yorkshire. Another early record dates back to 1202, when a William de Riggeby is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the name underwent various spellings, including Rigge, Rigg, Rigges, and Riggys, reflecting the inconsistencies in orthography during that period. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the personal preferences of scribes.

One notable historical figure bearing the Riggs surname was Edward Riggs (c. 1558-1636), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1608 to 1609. In the United States, Elias Riggs (1810-1901) was a pioneering American missionary and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Armenian, Bulgarian, and Turkish languages.

Another prominent individual was Sara Riggs (1838-1905), an American educator and women's rights activist who was instrumental in the establishment of the Milwaukee Female College, one of the first institutions of higher education for women in Wisconsin.

In the realm of sports, Bobby Riggs (1918-1995) was a renowned American tennis player who won several Grand Slam titles in the 1930s and 1940s. He is perhaps best known for his famous "Battle of the Sexes" match against Billie Jean King in 1973.

Lastly, Renee Riggs (1904-1969) was an American actress and singer who achieved success on Broadway and in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s, appearing in numerous musicals and films.

Throughout history, the Riggs surname has been associated with various places, including Riggs Hill in West Virginia, Riggs County in North Dakota, and Riggs Flat in California, all of which likely derived their names from early settlers bearing the Riggs surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Riggs families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Riggs surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Dorset leads with 388 Riggs' recorded in 1881 and an index of 60.73x.

County Total Index
Dorset 388 60.73x
Devon 91 4.49x
Middlesex 84 0.86x
Hampshire 71 3.56x
Yorkshire 47 0.49x
Somerset 40 2.55x
Lancashire 32 0.28x
Surrey 32 0.67x
Kent 30 0.90x
Glamorgan 18 1.06x
Gloucestershire 17 0.89x
Sussex 17 1.04x
Essex 14 0.73x
Suffolk 13 1.10x
Derbyshire 12 0.79x
Midlothian 9 0.69x
Northumberland 8 0.55x
Warwickshire 8 0.33x
Cheshire 6 0.28x
Durham 6 0.21x
Ross-shire 6 2.24x
Cumberland 5 0.60x
Royal Navy 5 4.31x
Staffordshire 5 0.15x
Lanarkshire 4 0.13x
Renfrewshire 4 0.53x
Wiltshire 4 0.46x
Clackmannanshire 3 3.73x
Stirlingshire 3 0.84x
Channel Islands 2 0.69x
Oxfordshire 2 0.33x
Worcestershire 2 0.16x
Angus 1 0.11x
Ayrshire 1 0.14x
Bedfordshire 1 0.20x
Berkshire 1 0.14x
Brecknockshire 1 0.51x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.16x
Herefordshire 1 0.25x
Inverness-shire 1 0.34x
Lincolnshire 1 0.06x
Northamptonshire 1 0.11x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Chesilborne in Dorset leads with 28 Riggs' recorded in 1881 and an index of 2372.88x.

Place Total Index
Chesilborne 28 2372.88x
Holdenhurst 26 49.68x
Plymouth Charles The 23 25.76x
Fordington 21 152.62x
Puddletown 21 535.71x
Blandford Forum 20 158.60x
Chatham 16 17.51x
Tormoham 16 18.66x
Wimborne Minster 15 145.21x
Leeds 13 2.39x
Stoke Damerel 13 9.17x
Hilton 12 542.99x
Shoreditch London 12 2.84x
Exeter Heavitree 11 72.80x
Gloucester Barton St Mary 11 31.48x
Tolpuddle 11 1078.43x
Tuners Puddle 11 2682.93x
Willesden 11 11.99x
Winterborne Whitechurch 11 780.14x
Affpuddle 10 613.50x
Battersea 10 2.79x
Milton Abbas 10 319.49x
Moreton 10 970.87x
Paddington London 10 2.79x
Southampton St Mary 10 7.97x
Spetisbury 10 564.97x
Woodbury 10 166.39x
Wynford Eagle 10 2000.00x
Aldershot 9 13.47x
Cerne Abbas 9 290.32x
Langton Long Blandford 9 967.74x
Melcombe Regis 9 33.99x
Roath 9 11.69x
Sherborne 9 47.82x
Bere Regis 8 186.92x
Derby St Werburgh 8 9.09x
Folkington 8 1818.18x
Owermoigne 8 567.38x
Woolland 8 2000.00x
Armley 7 16.45x
Bradford 7 454.55x
Burnham 7 58.58x
Leiston 7 86.00x
Littleham 7 47.23x
Solihull 7 39.66x
St George Hanover 7 5.51x
Wimborne 7 90.56x
Broadmayne 6 350.88x
Buckland Newton 6 209.79x
Chickerell 6 219.78x
Englishcombe 6 344.83x
Flixton 6 101.35x
Millbrook 6 11.94x
Mitcham 6 20.01x
Rosemarkie 6 205.48x
South Leith 6 4.09x
Stratton 6 600.00x
Walthamstow 6 8.67x
Westoe 6 3.65x
Bradford 5 2.14x
Brightside Bierlow 5 2.64x
Cattistock 5 282.49x
Chaldon Herring 5 446.43x
Christchurch 5 11.56x
Dewlish 5 324.68x
Dorchester St Peter 5 107.99x
Openshaw 5 9.24x
Parkstone 5 67.11x
Puddle Hinton 5 375.94x
Reddish 5 31.43x
Tarrant Gunville 5 420.17x
Tincelton 5 1020.41x
Croydon 4 1.52x
Henham 4 800.00x
Hornsey 4 3.25x
Lewisham 4 2.26x
Plashetts Tynehead 4 272.11x
Stoke St Gregory 4 84.03x
Tarrant Keynston 4 439.56x
Wolverhampton 4 1.58x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Riggs surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Riggs surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 54
John 51
George 43
Charles 31
Thomas 30
James 29
Henry 26
Robert 18
Arthur 15
Joseph 15
Walter 15
Alfred 13
Frederick 10
Albert 9
Herbert 9
Levi 8
Samuel 8
Frank 6
Harry 6
Andrew 5
Richard 5
Edward 4
Tom 4
Eli 3
Elias 3
Charlie 2
Chas. 2
Edgar 2
Edwin 2
Emanuel 2
Ernest 2
Geo. 2
Jasper 2
Lewis 2
Reginald 2
Stephen 2
Willie 2
Augustus 1
Fredc.H. 1
Fredk.G. 1
Fredrick 1
Geo.Wm. 1
Georgie 1
Jothan 1
Leonard 1
Meshach 1
Norman 1
Patrick 1
Peter 1
Wm.H. 1

FAQ

Riggs surname: questions and answers

How common was the Riggs surname in 1881?

In 1881, 990 people were recorded with the Riggs surname. That placed it at #3,941 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Riggs surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,656 in 2016. That gives Riggs a modern rank of #3,766.

What does the Riggs surname mean?

Derived from the Old English word "hrycg," meaning a ridge or high ground, and likely referred to someone who lived near a ridge.

What does the Riggs map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Riggs bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.