Bridge
A topographic surname for someone who lived near a bridge, or sometimes at the bridge-end.
The #5,827 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,039 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bridge comes from a residence or place-name surname referring to someone who lived by a bridge. The core word is Old English brycg, “bridge,” which appears in medieval spellings such as atte Brugge or atte Brigge, meaning “at the bridge.” Related forms include Briggs, Brigg, Bridger, and Bridgman, and some surname families later took pluralized forms such as Bridges or Brydges.
History
This is an old English surname type, widespread in medieval records and easy to generate independently in many places. Because bridges were important local landmarks, the name could arise separately in different counties rather than from a single family line. The same root also produced several variant surnames and spellings over time.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One medieval form cited by lexicographers is atte Brugeende, meaning literally “at the bridge-end.”
From the historical record
“BRIDESON. See Bride. BRIDGE. From residence at one. The medieval forms are Ate-Bruge, Atte Brigge, &c. It has been pluralized in the forms of Bridges, Brydges, kc. ; and has given rise to Bridger and Bridgman. The A-Sax. is hricg ; whence Brigg and Briggs. In the H.R. Ave Jiave Ate Brugeende, i.e. ' at the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom