Ridge
Ridge was the 530th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 566 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 505th with 599 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 407 places. More babies were named Ridge in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning ridge, a long hilltop (English word/surname) · English, Old English
Say it RIJ /rɪdʒ/
- Rank in 2025
- #530 boys, up 99 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 566boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2023599 babies
- Total since 1880
- 7,911babies recorded
What does the name Ridge mean?
Ridge is an English word name and a surname. The surname was a topographic name for someone who lived on or by a ridge, the long narrow top of a hill. The word comes from Middle English rigge and Old English hrycg, which first meant the back or spine of a person or animal. Wiktionary also lists a village called Ridge in Hertfordshire, England. As a boys' name in the US it dates from the mid-20th century.
hrycg (Old English, “back, spine; ridge”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley.
Sources for this meaning
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., entry 'ridge' (etymology), HarperCollins / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ridge' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Ridge popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 18 since 2022, 5 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #530 | 566 |
| 2020 | #629 | 429 |
| 2010 | #1,306 | 132 |
| 2000 | #1,495 | 82 |
| 1990 | #1,071 | 99 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Ridge, counting every spelling?
Ridge is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #524 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #530 for Ridge on its own. Together these spellings went to 574 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridge | 566 | #530 | 2,798 |
| Rydge | 8 | #9,544 | 51 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Ridge?
566 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ridge (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Ridge born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ridge.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ridge?
About 7,800 people born in the US named Ridge are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 20. That makes Ridge a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ridge by state
How common Ridge was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Montana (8.8×), South Dakota (7.8×), Utah (6.4×), Idaho (6.3×), Nebraska (4.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New York, Minnesota, California.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ridge: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ridge, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ridge · Sibling names for Ridge
Questions about the name Ridge
What does Ridge mean?
Ridge means “ridge, a long hilltop (English word/surname)” (English, Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ridge?
Ridge was the 530th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 566 babies. Its best year was 2023, when it ranked 505th with 599 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 407 places. More babies were named Ridge in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Ridge a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Ridge in the US.
Where is Ridge most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ridge was most common in Montana (2.83 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Dakota and Utah.