Explore the Family Name Bridges
The meaning of Bridges
English: variant of Bridge. The -s generally represents the genitive case, but may occasionally be a plural. In some cases this name denoted someone from the Flemish city of Bruges (Brugge) in Belgium, meaning ‘bridges’, which had extensive trading links with England in the Middle Ages.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Bridges in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Bridges" experienced a slight fluctuation between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Bridges ranked as the 579th most common last name in the United States, with a count of 52,260 individuals bearing this surname. By 2010, it had dropped slightly to the 635th position, despite an increase in raw count to 53,682 individuals. The proportion of people named Bridges per 100,000 decreased by approximately 6% during this decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #579 | #635 | -9.67% |
| Count | 52,260 | 53,682 | 2.72% |
| Proportion per 100k | 19.37 | 18.2 | -6.04% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bridges
When considering ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census provides a fascinating look at the diverse backgrounds associated with the Bridges surname. In 2000, the majority of people with this surname identified as White (70.46%), with Black (25.54%) being the second largest ethnic group. By 2010, while these two groups still dominated, their proportions shifted slightly to 67.71% White and 27.05% Black. Notably, the percentage of people with the Bridges surname identifying as Hispanic saw an impressive increase of 44.83% over the decade. There was also a rise in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those reporting two or more races. However, the proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Native remained steady.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 70.46% | 67.71% | -3.9% |
| Black | 25.54% | 27.05% | 5.91% |
| Two or More Races | 1.67% | 2.16% | 29.34% |
| Hispanic | 1.45% | 2.1% | 44.83% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.52% | 0.52% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.37% | 0.46% | 24.32% |
Bridges ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Bridges is British & Irish, which comprises 57.6% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (19.5%) and Nigerian (3.6%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Eastern European, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Spanish & Portuguese, and Italian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 57.6% |
| French & German | 19.5% |
| Nigerian | 3.6% |
| Other | 19.2% |
Possible origins of the surname Bridges
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Bridges have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 85.10% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 85.10% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 85.00% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 84.80% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 84.70% |
What Bridges haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Bridges is I-Z138, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z138 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and J-Z631, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Perkins, Rollins, Pryor, Haywood, Haskins, Slack, Hawk, Martz, Bray, Stanford.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Bridges surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Bridges have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Bridges" Surname 37.8%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Bridges" Surname 28.7%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Bridges" Surname 22.3%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Bridges" Surname 18.9%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Bridges?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Bridges are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition