Basil History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Early Origins of the Basil family

The surname Basil was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France where the family has been a prominent family for centuries, and held a family seat with lands and manor. The family were well established in the region of Dijonnais and several members of the family distinguished themselves through their contributions toward the community in which they lived and were rewarded with lands, titles and letters patent confirming their nobility. One of the more interesting records found was that of Pierre Basile (died April 6, 1199), also named Bertran de Gurdun and John Sabroz, a French boy famous for shooting King Richard I of England with a crossbow at the siege of Châlus-Chabrol on March 25, 1199. Apparently, King Richard was not mortally wounded by Basile's bolt but the wound resulted in gangrene which lead to the king's demise. Before the king's death King Richard ordered that Basile suffer no punishment but after Basile was hanged for his actions.

Early History of the Basil family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Basil research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1617, 1624, 1660, 1677 and 1684 are included under the topic Early Basil History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Basil Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Basile, Bassile, Bazille, Bazil, Basil, Bazell, Bazill, Baziret, Bazirais, Bazillon, Bazire, Basle, Bazilly, Bazillays, Bazillais, Bazoilles, Bazillac, Basillon, Bazon, Bezon, Bazonniere, de Basile and many more.

Early Notables of the Basil family

Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Basil Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Basil Ranking

In the United States, the name Basil is the 13,855^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Basil migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Basil Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Basil, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 2
Winnefred Basil who arrived in Boston in 1849

Contemporary Notables of the name Basil (post 1700) +

Richard Basil (b. 1967), American former head football coach at Savannah State University
Toni Basil (b. 1943), stage name of Antonia Christina Basilotta, an American singer-songwriter, actress, filmmaker, film director, choreographer, and dancer, best known for her multi-million selling worldwide No. 1 hit "Mickey" from 1982
Stephen John Basil (1893-1962), American Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1936 to 1942
Sam Basil (1969-2022), Papua New Guinean politician, Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007, representing the electorate of Bulolo Open, until his death in 2022, Treasurer of Papua New Guinea
Alfred Basil Lubbock MC (1876-1944), British historian, sailor and soldier and prolific writer on the last generation of commercial sailing vessels in the Age of Sail
Horace Basil Barlow FRS (1921-2020), British visual neuroscientist
Benjamin Basil Heatley (1933-2019), British silver medalist marathon runner at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Alvadon Basil Williams (1949-2015), West Indian cricketer who played in seven Tests from 1978 to 1979
Charles Basil Foster (1923-2017), English-born Canadian publicist, newspaper editor, author and songwriter
Sir Arthur Basil Markham (1866-1916), 1st Baronet of Beachborough Park, Kent, English peer, English industrialist and politician

Citations +

"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)