Ritchie
A Scottish and northern English surname meaning “little Richard” or “young Richard.”
The #1,217 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,632 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ritchie is a diminutive form of Richard, built with an old northern and Scots nickname ending. In effect, it meant “little Richard” or “son of Richard,” rather than coming directly from a place or occupation. Older surname writers also note spellings such as Richie, with the -tch- form becoming common later.
History
The name is especially associated with Scotland and the north of England, and nineteenth-century surname scholars treated it as a standard diminutive of Richard in those regions. Historical spellings often appear as Richie, showing the form before later standardization. It remains a common Scottish surname and has spread widely through the English-speaking world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older sources explicitly describe Ritchie as a “double diminutive” of Richard, a neat example of how nickname forms could become fixed surnames.
From the historical record
“RITCHIE, a North. E. and Scot, double dim. of Richard, q.v. [O.E. dim. suff. -ie, -y\ In the 1 6th cent, the form was commonly Richie. RITSON I for Ritch's Son : v. Ritch, Rich. 2 for Wpightson, q.v. RITTER (Ger.) Cavalier, Knight [v. the Appendix of Foreign Names] , Cp. Rutter.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)