Ritchey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Early Origins of the Ritchey family

The surname Ritchey was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Scotland to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Ritchey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ritchey research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1890 is included under the topic Early Ritchey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ritchey Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacRitchie, Ritchie, MacRichie and others.

Early Notables of the Ritchey family

More information is included under the topic Early Ritchey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ritchey Ranking

In the United States, the name Ritchey is the 3,850^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Ritchey family to Ireland

Some of the Ritchey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ritchey migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ritchey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Gregory Ritchey, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1763 2

Ritchey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Ritchey, aged 50, who landed in New York, NY in 1805 2
James Ritchey, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 2
Joseph Ritchey, who arrived in Maryland in 1813 2
John P C Ritchey, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1827 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Ritchey (post 1700) +

James Alan Ritchey (b. 1973), American NFL football quarterback
Claude Cassius Ritchey (1873-1951), nicknamed "Little All Right", American Major League Baseball player who played from 1897 to 1909
Thomas Ritchey (1801-1863), American politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio
George Willis Ritchey (1864-1945), American optician and telescope maker and astronomer, eponym of the Ritchey crater on Mars and the Moon
Timothy F. "Tim" Ritchey (b. 1951), American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer
Tom Ritchey (b. 1956), American bicycle frame builder, designer and founder of Ritchey Design, inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame (2012)
Andrew Ritchey, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories

The Ritchey Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtutue acquiritur honos
Motto Translation: Honour is aquired by virtue.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)