Show ContentsRiba History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as Riba, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Spanish people. The original bearer of the name Riba, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Riba family originally lived near a river bank or seaside. The surname Riba is derived from the word riparia, which is further derived form the Latin word ripa, which mean river bank or seaside.

Early Origins of the Riba family

The surname Riba was first found in Leon, in northwestern Spain.

Early History of the Riba family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Riba research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1212, 1236, 1243, 1248, 1265, 1576 and 1655 are included under the topic Early Riba History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Riba Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Rivas, Riva, Ribas, Riba, de Rivas, de Ribas, de la Riva, de la Riba, de Riva, de Riba and many more.

Early Notables of the Riba family

Prominent among members of the family

  • were 16th century Spanish painter Francisco Ribalta, and his son Juan, also a painter
  • Andres Perez De Ribas (1576-1655), a Spanish Jesuit missionary, and historian of north-western Mexico
  • 19th century Venezuelan military officer José Félix Ribas


United States Riba migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Riba Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Rodrigo de la Riba, who sailed to America in 1513
  • Pedro de la Riba, who sailed to America in 1528
Riba Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Rodrigo DeLa Riba, who landed in America in 1813 1
  • Gertrudis Riba, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1820 1
  • R DeLa Riba, aged 21, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1826 1
  • Pedro DeLa Riba, who arrived in America in 1828 1
  • Ramon DeLa Riba, aged 28, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 1
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Riba (post 1700) +

  • Daniel Esteban "Dan" Riba (b. 1960), American television director of animated cartoons
  • Pau Riba i Romeva (1948-2022), Spanish author and Mallorquín versatile artist
  • Pere Riba Madrid (b. 1988), Spanish professional tennis player


  1. 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)


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