Rigsby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Rigsby name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the parish of Rigsby in the county of Lincolnshire. Rigsby is a habitation name which forms a broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. Habitiation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads and indicated where a man held his land and estates.

Early Origins of the Rigsby family

The surname Rigsby was first found in Lincolnshire at Rigsby listed in the Domesday Book as Rigesbi and Righesbi, land held by the Archbishop of York. Herbert the archbishop's man held one plough, three villans and four boarders with two oxen. In total it comprised ninety acres of pasture and sixty acres of woodland. 1 Today the village is part of the civil parish of Rigsby with Ailby in the East Lindsey district.

Early History of the Rigsby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rigsby research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1570, 1594, 1600, 1620, 1650, 1659, 1671 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Rigsby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rigsby Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Rigsby were recorded, including Rigbye, Rigbie, Rigby and others.

Early Notables of the Rigsby family

Distinguished members of the family include Saint John Rigby (ca. 1570-1600), an English Roman Catholic martyr who was executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.Alexander Rigby (1594-1650), was an English parliamentary colonel and Baron of the Exchequer, the eldest...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rigsby Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rigsby Ranking

In the United States, the name Rigsby is the 3,441^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2

Rigsby migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Rigsby family emigrate to North America:

Rigsby Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Rigsby, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 3

Rigsby Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

James Rigsby, aged 50, who settled in America from Fealaw, Ireland, in 1906
Hannah Rigsby, aged 66, who immigrated to the United States from Rhonda Valley, Wales, in 1907

Contemporary Notables of the name Rigsby (post 1700) +

Bruce Rigsby (1937-2022), American-born, Australian anthropologist specializing in the languages and ethnography of native peoples on both continents, professor emeritus at Queensland University
George P. Rigsby, American geologist on the Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (1956–1957), eponym of Rigsby Islands, Antarctica
Alex Rigsby (b. 1992), United States National women's gold medalist ice hockey player
Jim Rigsby (1923-1952), American Indy 500 racecar driver

Citations +

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/
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)