VARIATIONS IN SPELLING

The surname RIGGS is sometimes found with different spelling(s) in the earlier records. For example, Thomas Rigges of Southampton, Hampshire, and his descendants had their surname spelt in various documents using one or more of the following ways:-
Riggs, Ryggs, Rigges, Rygges, Ryggys, Rigge, Rygge,
and also Ridges, Ridgis, Rydgis, Ridge.

There are a number of reasons for this:

1.

SPELLING AND LITERACY

Thomas Rigges of Southampton, Hampshire, for example, lived in the first half of the sixteenth century, at a time when the spelling of christian names and surnames hadn't yet become consistent. Spelling in general wasn't always standardised, and surnames were still evolving; and, until education became common in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, people unable to read would be unaware that their surname had been wrongly entered. Thomas and the rest of the aldermen of Southampton each made their distinctive "mark" on official documents, instead of adding their signature; even those able to sign their name might not necessarily have been able to read and write.

2.

YE OLDE ENGLYSHE

Mediaeval spelling tended to have inconsistent doubling of consonants, though this occurred more frequently at the end of a word: for example, in researching Edward Riggs of Riggsdale in county Cork, Ireland, one can find PIGOT, PIGOTT, PIGGOT, and PIGGOTT as forms of the same surname.
It also tended to add a final 'e' after a consonant at the end of a word, so that for example 'shop' became 'shoppe', as in 'Ye Olde Tea Shoppe'. Hence the variations in the spelling of surnames that might be found in older documents:
- RIGS, RIGGS and RIGGES
- RIG, RIGG and RIGGE

The letter 'i' was not usually dotted in mediaeval handwriting but was written as 'ı', and therefore the letter 'y' was often used instead, because that was a letter less liable to be read as part of the letter preceding or following it. Incidentally, 'y' is still used as a vowel in the Welsh language, and the distinction between 'i' and 'j' is a modern one (as is the distinction between 'u' and 'v') with the final 'i' in Roman numerals previously being replaced with a 'j' as in "iij". Hence the possible additional variations in the spelling of surnames that might be found in older documents:
- RYGS, RYGGS and RYGGES
- RYG, RYGG and RYGGE

Some letters had different sounds in mediaeval usage, an example quoted on the TheOriginalRecord.com website being that "the surname Judge would normally be spelt Jugge". Therefore, applying the same process as in the example given, the following mutation in surnames might be found in older documents:
- RIDGES could be spelt RIGGES or RIGGS
- RIDGE could be spelt RIGGE or RIGG
This mutation is elaborated on in the page on the origins and meanings of the surname RIGGS.

3.

HANDWRITING

Writing before 1700 was in the form of the elaborate Secretary Hand, in which an "s" at the end of a word was written as an "e" tailing off downwards (with a small loop on the bottom). As you can see from the example given, where "goodes" (an ancient spelling of "goods") looks like "goode", this is why RIGGES can look like RIGGE.

But we can't just blame those living centuries ago for misleading us with their style of handwriting. Look at the frame from the "Peanuts" cartoon of July 15th 1973 (after Bobby Riggs beat Billie Jean King in their 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match). Could you mistake 'Riggs' for Rigge' when you read it?

Again not affecting the RIGGS surname, other customs which can be misleading are the writing of "ss" as "fs" but with the "f" left uncrossed and its 'tail' below the line, and writing the roman numeral "i" at the end of a number as a "j". Some writers added flowery embellishments to the conventional script and there was also a wide variation in neatness (or rather lack of it). Bear in mind also that the condition of original documents deteriorates as they age, and you can then understand why a surname can easily be misread.

4.

USE OF LATIN

Official and church records were often previously written in Latin: surnames, and Christian names in particular, were frequently "Latinised" instead of using the more normal English version. For example, records of the aldermen of Southampton, Hampshire, state in 1549:-
"Tempore Thome Rydgis Maioris"
which was translated in the publication in which this record was reproduced as
"(in the time of Thomas Rigges as Mayor)".

5.

DIALECT AND PRONUNCIATION

When a person was asked what his or her name was, to be entered on documents, a regional accent or dialect may have distorted the answer given. The clerk entered the surname accordingly, to reflect what he had heard and how he felt that name should be spelt. Even a heavy cold could distort pronunciation - try holding your nose whilst saying your name, or any other surname, and see what it sounds like.

This is particularly relevant where a person had migrated from an area where the surname and its spelling was relatively familiar to a different area, where the surname may have been uncommon and/or the person's dialect difficult to understand.

The Wessex dialect in the UK is a strong one especially in Dorset, Devon and Somerset, each of which has its own distinctive form. A surname may evolve over time as dialects harden or soften it, and this may account for some families in the early records for Dorset apparently evolving from REEKS through RICKS to RIGGS - this will be discussed in far greater detail on the page on the origins and meanings of the surname RIGGS.

Variations in spelling the surname make it much more difficult to identify with certainty, for instance, Thomas RIDGES and Thomas RIGGS as being the same person. An extreme example of inconsistency appears in the table of the officers of Southampton, Hampshire, elected in each year, in which Thomas RIGGS' name is spelt in 6 different ways in the 6 entries concerned:

1536 Thomas Riggs......Steward
1537 Thomas Ryggs.....Junior Bailiff
1538 Thomas Ryggys...Senior Bailiff
1539 Thomas Rigges....Sheriff
1542 Thomas Rygges...Mayor
1548 Thomas Ridgis.....Mayor