10,112 Ridgeway members around the world

Ridgeway Family History

This is an English topograhical surname of great antiquity. It originally denoted a person who lived on or by a Roman road built along the top of a ridge. Roads were often constructed in such places as they were both drier areas than in the valleys or dales, and they made for easier observation and therefore less opportunity for attack by bandits and other criminals who preyed on travellers. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century 'hrycg', meaning a ridge, with 'weg', a path or road.