Ritchey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The illustrious name Ritchey is derived from the name of an ancestor as in 'the son of Richard' and in early records was seen as both a surname and a forename. 1 "In the 16th century, the form was commonly Richie." 2

Early Origins of the Ritchey family

The surname Ritchey was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt.) In some cases, the name was derived from MacRitchie.

"Michael Rechy in Inverness in the fourteenth century. Duncan Richie was a messenger in Perth, 1505, and John Riche witnessed an instrument of sasine in Brechin in the same year. Duncan Riche was the king's sheriff of Inverness in 1512, and there is mention of the lands of Robert Reche in Glasgow, 1550." 3

The MacRitchie variant is typically "a Highland border name," 3 "Robert McRichie or Makryche 'of Dalmunzie' and 'in Glenshee' appears in 1571-1583-1584-1589, and his son Duncan McCreiche in Glenshee in 1594. This Duncan is also found in record as Duncan Mcintosche alias McCreitche of Dalmungy in 1584, and in the Clan Chattan Rand of 1595 he is recorded as Duncan Mcryche of Dulmonaye. The Macritchies are really Macintoshes descended from a Richard Macintosh, and some Macritchies have been connected with the parishes of Clunie and Caputh in Perthshire since 1683." 3

Early History of the Ritchey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ritchey research. Another 201 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1474, 1509, 1520, 1538, 1574, 1577, 1586, 1609, 1620, 1647, 1682, 1765, 1781, 1782, 1788, 1800, 1806, 1808, 1810, 1811, 1813, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1838, 1846, 1848, 1851, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1861, 1865, 1873, 1883, 1890 and 1892 are 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

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Alexander George Richey (1830-1883), Irish historian, born in 1830, was the son of Alexander Richey of Mountemple, Coolock, co. Dublin, and his wife, Matilda Browne, whose sister Margaret married Henry, second son of the first earl and father of the third earl of Charlemont. He was educated at Dungannon royal school, entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1848, and was elected on the foundation in 1861. He graduated B.A. in 1853, winning the first gold medal in classics, LL.B. in 1855, and LL.D. in 1873. 4Joseph Ritchie (1788?-1819), African traveller, born at Otley in...
Another 520 words (37 lines of text) are 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. 5

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 6

Ritchey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Ritchey, aged 50, who landed in New York, NY in 1805 6
James Ritchey, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 6
Joseph Ritchey, who arrived in Maryland in 1813 6
John P C Ritchey, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1827 6

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 +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"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)