Show ContentsBigler History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name Bigler originally appeared in Gaelic as O Beaglaoich where beag means little, and laoch means hero. First Anglicized as O'Begley, it now appears mostly as Begley, and occasionally Bagley.

Early Origins of the Bigler family

The surname Bigler was first found in the counties of Cork and Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held considerable territories as an important Irish sept directly descended from the line of the Heber Irish Kings.

Early History of the Bigler family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bigler research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1732 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Bigler History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bigler Spelling Variations

The archives that survive today demonstrate the difficulty experienced by the scribes of the Middle Ages in their attempt to record these names in writing. Spelling variations of the name Bigler dating from that time include Begley, Beegley, Beeghley, Begly, Begeley, Begely, Beagley and many more.

Early Notables of the Bigler family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bigler Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bigler Ranking

In the United States, the name Bigler is the 6,412nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1]


United States Bigler migration to the United States +

A massive wave of Irish immigrants hit North America during the 19th century. Although many early Irish immigrants made a carefully planned decision to leave left Ireland for the promise of free land, by the 1840s immigrants were fleeing a famine stricken land in desperation. The condition of Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s can be attributed to a rapidly expanding population and English imperial policies. Those Irish families that arrived in North America were essential to its rapid social, industrial, and economic development. Passenger and immigration lists have revealed a number of early Irish immigrants bearing the name Bigler:

Bigler Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Paul Linsen Bigler, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 [2]
  • Andreas Bigler, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 [2]
  • Anna Bigler, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 [2]
  • Elizabeth Bigler, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 [2]
  • Maria Bigler, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 [2]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bigler Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • A Bigler, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 [2]
  • John Nicholas Bigler, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1870 [2]
  • Josef Bigler, aged 2, who arrived in New York, NY in 1893 [2]
  • Julia Bigler, aged 2, who landed in Kansas in 1893 [2]
  • Katharine Bigler, aged 4, who landed in Kansas in 1893 [2]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bigler (post 1700) +

  • John Bigler (1805-1871), American lawyer, politician and diplomat, 9th United States Ambassador to Chile (1857-1861), 3rd Governor of California (1852-1856)
  • William Bigler (1814-1880), American politician, 12th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1852 to 1855
  • William B. Bigler, American politician, Independent Candidate for Pennsylvania State Senate 28th District, 1886
  • Warren Bigler, American Republican politician, Indiana State Auditor, 1905-06 [3]
  • James Bigler, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Illinois Democratic State Committee, 1848-52 [3]
  • Charles F. Bigler, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Onondaga County 1st District, 1934, 1935 [3]
  • Charles F. Bigler, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Chautauqua County 2nd District, 1911 [3]
  • Chris Bigler (b. 1949), Swiss retired businessman and poker player, as of 2015, his total live tournament winnings exceed 1,425,000
  • Milo Bigler (b. 1914), Swiss Olympic skeleton racer


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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