Ringo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Ringo reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Ringo family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Ringo family lived in Yorkshire. The name is thought to be a combination of the names of two areas, Ringborough and Roos, both of which were held by the same tenant in Chief. Since it was the Norman custom for all but the first son to take the name of the land which the family held it is thought that the name is a rare combined derivation.

Early Origins of the Ringo family

The surname Ringo was first found in Yorkshire but the ancient origin of this name is obscure. 1 The first on record is John Ringerose who was listed in Norwich in 1259. John Ringros was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Cumberland in 1332 and Thomas Ryngotherose was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in the same year. 2

Stephen Ryngros was Chaplain of St. Mary's in Scarborough in Yorkshire in the year 1582. Conjecturally they may be of Norse origin, from Hringr, but this would date back so far that for all intents and purposes they would have become immersed in the Norman culture. The name, however, seems to have caught the attention and imagination of the first Queen Elizabeth, for she commanded a Hampshire gentleman to adopt the name of Colonel John Ringrose about the same year and bade him journey to Ireland to seek his fortune. The Irish herald, however, claims he was from Yorkshire, and settled in East Clare in the south of Ireland.

At the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 there were two villages in the East Riding of Yorkshire, one Ringborough and the other Roos. Both of these villages were held by a Norman noble and tenant-in-chief, Drogo de Beuvriere, 3 and, as it was the custom for junior sons to take the surname of their village, the name may have derived from a combination of these two village names and be directly descended from Drogo Ring-Roos.

Early History of the Ringo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ringo research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1678 and 1686 are included under the topic Early Ringo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ringo Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Ringrose, Ryngrose, Ryngerose, Ringerose and others.

Early Notables of the Ringo family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Stephen Ryngros, Chaplain of St. Mary's, in Scarborough in Yorkshire. Mention should also be made of the infamous Basil Ringrose (d.1686) the noted buccaneer, navigator, geographer and author. He died during...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ringo Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ringo Ranking

In the United States, the name Ringo is the 10,575^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Ringo family to Ireland

Some of the Ringo family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ringo family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Ringo name or one of its variants: John Ringerose who landed in North America in 1700.

Contemporary Notables of the name Ringo (post 1700) +

Frank C. Ringo (1860-1889), American Major League Baseball catcher
John Peters "Johnny" Ringo (1850-1882), American cowboy, known as "the King of the Cowboys" in Tombstone, Arizona
John Ringo (b. 1963), American science fiction and military fiction author
Shirley G. Ringo, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Idaho, 1996, 2000 5
Ronald Ringo, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Jackson County 3rd District, 1941-42 5
Maria R Ringo, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1988 5
Jerry Ringo, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kentucky, 1956 5
Daniel Ringo (1803-1873), American politician, U.S. District Judge for Arkansas, 1844-61 5
Clarence H. Ringo, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 14th District, 1958 5
Charlie Ringo, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oregon, 2004 5

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html