First found in Leicestershire where they have been seated from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D.

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Biggins arrived in North America very early: Richard Bickham who settled in Barbados in 1685; George Bickham settled in Philadelphia in 1830; Margaret Biggam settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1767.

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