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Show ContentsRipple History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The Ripple name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived in the village of Ripley found in various locations in England including Yorkshire. The surname was originally derived from the Old English words ripel meaning strip of land and leah meaning wood. Thus the original bearers of the surname lived in the area that was defined by a strip of land by the forest. 1

The Domesday Book of 1086 included entries for: Ripelei (Derbyshire), Riple (Hampshire) and Ripeleia (Yorkshire.) 2

Interestingly "the chapel, [in Ripley, Surrey] which appears to have been founded about the end of the 12th century, is, in a record of the time of Edward II., called the oratory of Ripelia or Ripellee; and in the 2nd of Edward VI. seems to have been regarded as a chantry chapel." 3

Early Origins of the Ripple family

The surname Ripple was first found in Yorkshire at Ripley. "This place was anciently the property of the Ripley family, by marriage with whose heiress, about the latter part of the fourteenth century, it was conveyed to Sir Thomas Ingilby, whose descendant, William, was created a Baronet in 1642: the title, becoming extinct, was revived in 1781, and has passed to Sir William Amcots Ingilby, the present owner of the estate. During the parliamentary war, Ripley Castle was visited after the battle of Marston-Moor by Oliver Cromwell, who passed one night here; it was originally built in 1555, and having been much enlarged and improved during the present century, is a handsome castellated mansion, finely situated in a demesne tastefully laid out. " 3

"The Ripleys were mayors of Ripon in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The name is now scarce. " 4

In Scotland the family is generally believed to have descended from the Yorkshire branch. Here we found: "Bernaidus de Rippeley witnessed the gift by Alexander II of ten marks annually to the Abbey of Arbroath in 1247 (RAA., I, p. 202), and in 1249 he witnessed a charter de Werenna de Muskilburg (Musselbergh) to the monks of Dunfermline. He also witnessed confirmation of the gift of the lands of Prendergest to the monks of Coldingham in the reign of Alexander II. Willelmus de Rypeley is mentioned in a charter of 1279 as the progenitor of Sir William de Dolays (Dallas), and as having held the lands of Dolays Mykel under a grant of confirmation of William the Lion." 5

Early rolls include the following early spellings: Bernard Rippeley in Yorkshire, 1175-1183; Roger Rippeley in Northumberland in 1242; and Richard Rypplay in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls in 1381. 6 The later rolls also include: Matilda de Riplay in 1379. 7

Early History of the Ripple family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ripple research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1490, 1682, 1721 and 1758 are included under the topic Early Ripple History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ripple Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Ripple has undergone many spelling variations, including Ripley, Rippley, Rippley, Rippleigh, Ripleigh, Riplea and many more.

Early Notables of the Ripple family

Notables of this surname at this time include: George Ripley (died 1490), and English alchemist, born at Ripley in Yorkshire. However, this branch seems to have become extinct during the fifteenth century. The alchemist Ripley has been confused with George (or Gregory) Ripley (d. 1400?), a Carmelite friar of Boston, and author of lives of St. Botolph and John of...
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ripple Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ripple Ranking

In the United States, the name Ripple is the 13,172nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 8

United States Ripple migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Ripple were among those contributors:

Ripple Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Ripple, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 9
Ripple Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Robert Ripple, who landed in Virginia in 1701 9
Ripple Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Franc Ripple, who landed in America in 1853 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Ripple (post 1700) +

  • Charles Dawson Ripple (1920-1979), American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 1940s
  • James Albert "Jimmy" Ripple (1909-1959), American Major League Baseball outfielder from 1936 through 1943
  • Kenneth Francis Ripple (b. 1943), American retired Senior Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1985-2008)
  • Ezra Hoyt Ripple Jr. (1879-1952), American Republican politician, Postmaster at Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1930-34 10
  • Ezra Hoyt Ripple (1842-1909), American Republican politician, Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1886-90; Postmaster at Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1897-1909 10
  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  5. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  9. 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)
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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