Show ContentsRicke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Ricke is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the county of Somerset. Ricke is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. In this case the surname was originally derived from the Old English word risc which refers to those individuals who lived near the rushes. [1]

Alternatively, the name could have been Saxon in origin, denoting "a powerful, rich, or generous disposition, from ric, rich." [2]

Rixon is a village near Sturminster Newton in Dorset.

Early Origins of the Ricke family

The surname Ricke was first found in Cheshire where the mononym Rike was recorded in the Assize Rolls of 1260. A few years later, Osbert, John de la Rixe was recorded in Somerset in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1274. In Suffolk, Ema Ricke and David Rickes were listed there in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 and later, Richard Rycke and Milcentia Ryckes were listed at Colchester in 1330 and 1351. In Devon, Roger ate Rixe was listed in 1302 and back in Somerset, William atte Ryxe was listed there in 1333. [1]

Early History of the Ricke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ricke research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1274 and 1333 are included under the topic Early Ricke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ricke Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Ricke family name include Ricks, Rickes, Rick, Rix, Rixon, Ricke and others.

Early Notables of the Ricke family

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


United States Ricke migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Ricke surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Ricke Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Henry Ricke, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1743 [3]
  • Heinrich Ricke, who landed in America in 1780 [3]
Ricke Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Carl Ricke, aged 29, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1847 aboard the ship "Helen & Elise"

Contemporary Notables of the name Ricke (post 1700) +

  • Herbert Rüdiger Ricke (1901-1976), German archaeologist, Egyptologist and architectural historian


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  3. 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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