Show ContentsBaidelow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Baidelow is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo Saxon tribes of Britain. The first people to bear this distinguished name lived at Badley, a parish, in the union and hundred of Bosmere and Claydon, E. division of Suffolk, 1 or at Baddeley Green in Staffordshire. The latter dates back to 1227 when it was known as Baddilige and literally meant "woodland clearing or a man called Badda." 2

Other sources note that the family could have originated at Baddiley, a parish in Cheshire, near Nantwich. 3 4 5

Early Origins of the Baidelow family

The surname Baidelow was first found in Hampshire where Robert de Badelea was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1187. Later, Gilbert de Badele was found in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1227 and John de Baddyleye in the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire in 1327. 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include William de Badeleye, Essex and Geoffrey de Badele, Suffolk. 3

Robert de Badele, Norfolk, Henry III— Edward I was listed in the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. 7

Early History of the Baidelow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baidelow research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1608, 1646, 1648, 1650, 1653, 1688, 1703, 1704 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Baidelow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baidelow Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Baidelow family name include Baddely, Baddeley, Baddiley, Badley, Badly, Badely, Badgely, Badlely and many more.

Early Notables of the Baidelow family

Distinguished members of the family include John Battely (Batteley) (1646-1708), an English antiquary and clergyman, Archdeacon of Canterbury (1688-1708); and his brother Nicholas Battely (1648-1704), an English clergyman and antiquary, editor of William Somner’s Cantuaria Sacra. Richard Baddeley...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Baidelow Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Baidelow family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Baidelow surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Badeley who settled in Virginia in 1623; Thomas Badley settled in Virginia in 1642; Tom Badgley settled in San Francisco, California, in 1852.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  5. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)


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