Riggs Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Riggs last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Riggs last name
Meaning of the Riggs last name: of the ridge. Riggs is an English surname for someone who lived on or by a ridge, from Middle English rigge, from Old Norse hryggr, with -s meaning "of the ridge" or "son of". The Norse root shows the last name belongs mainly to northern England, above all Cumbria and Yorkshire. A curious detail of this family name meaning: a ploughed strip was also called a rig in the north.
Arms associated with the Riggs name
Animals on English shields stood for the qualities admired in them, such as the lion for courage, and that heraldic language shapes coats of arms associated with the Riggs surname.
Get your full Riggs family history
This is only a glimpse of the Riggs story. The full Riggs history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Riggs coat of arms. Get the full Riggs report.
Riggs name FAQ
What does the Riggs name mean?
Of the ridge. Common variants include Rigg.
Where does the Riggs surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Riggs coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Riggs coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).