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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The ancestry of the name Bigley dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the town of Bickleigh in the county of Devon. This place-name is derived from the Anglo Saxon personal name Bicca meaning pickaxe, and the Old English word leigh, meaning wooded area.
The surname Bigley was first found in Devon, at Bickleigh, a parish, in the union of Tiverton, hundred of Hayridge, 4 miles from Tiverton. 1 Bickleigh is also a parish, in the union of Plympton St. Mary, hundred of Roborough in Devon. 2
Bickley is a township, in the parish of Malpas, union of Nantwich, Higher division of the hundred of Broxton, S. division of the county of Chester. 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bigley research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1415, 1426, 1518, 1529, 1569, 1582, 1585, 1586, 1596, 1623, 1644, 1661, 1667, 1670, 1681, 1687, 1746 and 1754 are included under the topic Early Bigley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Bigley have been found, including Bickley, Bickle, Bickler, Bickleigh, Bigley, Bigly, Biglay and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include: John Bickley, Member of the Parliament for Huntingdon in 1415 and 1426; John Bickley, Member of the Parliament for Stafford in 1529; Sir Francis Bickley, 1st Baronet (c. 1582-1670); Sir Francis Bickley, 2nd Baronet (c. 1623-1681); Sir Francis Bickley, 3rd Baronet (1644-1687); and Sir Francis Bickley, 4th...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bigley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Bigley is the 9,262nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Bigley, or a variant listed above:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: