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Badger History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Badger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Badger is an old Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was a peddler who would travel buying and selling goods for profit. Another source claims the name was derived from the French word bagagier, or baggage-carrier. [1] A 'badger,' a hawker, was also a dealer in corn and other commodities, buying in one place to sell in another. [2]

Early Origins of the Badger family

The surname Badger was first found in Yorkshire where one of the first records of the name was Richard le Bagger, who was listed on the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1246 and later in Yorkshire in 1297. Later Yorkshire rolls included Adam Badger in 1324. [3]

Badger was a Warwickshire name in the reign of Henry VIII.. There was a Thomas le Baggere in the adjoining county of Oxford in the 13th century. [4]

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included Thomas le Baggere, Oxfordshire and later the Lay Subsidy Rolls listed Robert le Bagger, Lancashire, 1333. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus Bagger; and Ricardus Badger. [2]

Interestingly, none of the dozen or so sources we consulted felt the name could have derived from badger, the animal.

Early History of the Badger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Badger research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1573, 1580, 1585, 1602, 1605, 1610, 1629, 1639, 1641, 1651, 1778 and 1816 are included under the topic Early Badger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Badger Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Badger has been recorded under many different variations, including Badger, Badge, Bagehot, Baghot, Badghot and others.

Early Notables of the Badger family

Distinguished members of the family include

George Badger, English bookseller in London who held a shop at St. Dunstan's Churchyard in 1641 and later at St. Dunstan's Churchyard, Fleet Street, 1641-1651. He is thought to have been a relation of...
Richard Badger was the son of John Badger, of Stratford-upon-Avon. The parish registers of the town do not confirm this, the only entries of a Richard Badger being Richard, son to George Badger, born...
Thomas Badger was a London printer, son of Richard Badger. He printed as the assign of Thomas Purfoot the second, and on that printer's death in 1639 was elected a master printer in his place, and in...
On the more infamous side, Charlotte Badger (1778-1816) is widely considered to be the first Australian female pirate. She was also one of the first two white female settlers in New Zealand

Badger Ranking

In the United States, the name Badger is the 3,471^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [5]

Badger migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Badger or a variant listed above:

Badger Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Giles Badger who settled in New England in 1620, the same year as the "Mayflower"
Giles Badger, who arrived in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1635 [6]
Gyles Badger, who landed in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1635 [6]
Nathaniel Badger, who arrived in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1635 [6]
Thomas Badger, who arrived in New Haven, Connecticut in 1639 [6]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Badger Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles Badger, who settled in Annapolis Maryland in 1725
Moses Badger, who landed in New Hampshire in 1767 [6]
Reverend Badger, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1767
John Badger, aged 19, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1776 [6]

Badger Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

T W Badger, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 [6]

Badger migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Badger Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Charlotte Badger, (b. 1778), aged 22, British Convict who was convicted in Worcester, Worcestershire, England for 7 years for house breaking, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [7]
John Badger, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on September 21, 1826, settling in New South Wales, Australia [8]
Mr. William Badger, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [9]
Ann Badger, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Derwent" in 1849 [10]
David Badger, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Derwent" in 1849 [10]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Badger (post 1700) +

Brigadier-General George Maurice Badger (1897-1970), American Commanding Officer, 56th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade (1944-1945) [11]
James Golvin Badger, American Vice President of Edwin Hines Lumber Co. Chicago
Clarence G Badger (1880-1964), American film director, writer, and actor
William Badger, American manufacturer, mill and politician, Governor of New Hampshire
Joseph Badger, American painter
De Witt Clinton Badger (1858-1926), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Ohio 12th District, 1903-05; Defeated, 1904; Mayor of Columbus, Ohio, 1906-07
Claude V. Badger (b. 1885), American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Wolcott, 1933-36; Member of Connecticut State Senate 14th District, 1939-40
Charles E. Badger, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1964
C. E. Badger, American politician, Member of Michigan Prohibition Party State Central Committee, 1919
Bela Badger, American politician, Delegate to Whig National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1839
... (Another 20 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1826 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1826
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The DERWENT 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Derwent.htm
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) George Badger. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Badger/George_Maurice/USA.html