Show ContentsBaugh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Baugh was originally formed in the western region of Britain in the rugged country of Wales. Baugh was initially a nickname for a small or short man, derived from the Welsh word "bach," which means "little."

Early Origins of the Baugh family

The surname Baugh was first found in Denbighshire (Welsh: Sir Ddinbych), a historic county in Northeast Wales created by the Laws in Wales Act 1536, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Baugh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baugh research. Another 176 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1391, 1450, 1545, 1600, 1612, 1615 and 1622 are included under the topic Early Baugh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baugh Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Baugh have included Baugh, Bach, Bagh, Bawgh, Baughe, Bawghe and others.

Early Notables of the Baugh family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Geoffrey Bagh, a prominent 15th century landholder in Shropshire.William Baffin (d. 1622), was an English navigator and discoverer, most probably a native of London, but nothing is known of his early life. "The earliest mention of him is in 1612, as pilot of the Patience, fitted out at Hull by James Hall, for a voyage of discovery to Greenland. Amongst early navigators Baffin takes a high place as one of the first who endeavoured to determine longitude at sea by astronomical observations. In his first recorded voyage to Greenland (8 July...
Another 103 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Baugh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baugh Ranking

In the United States, the name Baugh is the 2,519th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1


Baugh migration to the United States +

Many Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Baugh were found:

Baugh Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Baugh, who arrived in Virginia in 1621 aboard the ship "Supply" 2
  • Thomas Baugh, who landed in Virginia in 1634 2
  • William Baugh, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 2
  • Ino Baugh, who landed in Virginia in 1664 2
  • Joseph Baugh, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1683 2
Baugh Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jonathan Baugh, who arrived in Virginia in 1729
  • Henrick Baugh, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 2
Baugh Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Peter Baugh, who sailed to Philadelphia in 1832
  • August Baugh, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1857 2
  • Phillip Baugh, who arrived in Mississippi in 1860 2
  • Theodore Baugh traveled to San Francisco in 1861
  • William Baugh, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1865
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Baugh migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Baugh Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Mary Baugh, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Baugh migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3
Baugh Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • John Baugh journeyed to Barbados in 1671

Contemporary Notables of the name Baugh (post 1700) +

  • Howard Lee Baugh (1920-2008), American veteran of World War II and member of the Tuskegee Airmen, awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, The Air Force Medal and The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
  • Albert C. Baugh, former American professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, author of A History of the English Language (1935)
  • Steven C. Baugh (b. 1945), American associate professor of education at Brigham Young University
  • Private First Class William Bernard Baugh (1930-1950), United States marine who sacrificed his life to save his Marine comrades at the age of 20, recipient of the Medal of Honor and Purple Heart
  • Hale Baugh (1924-2011), American pentathlete at the 1948 Summer Olympics, father of Laura Baugh
  • Phil Baugh (1936-1990), American country guitarist, active from the 1960s through the 1980s
  • Thomas Anthony "Tom" Baugh (b. 1963), former professional American NFL football center, inducted into the SIU Athletic Hall of Fame (2002)
  • Alexander L. Baugh (b. 1957), American professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, editor of the Joseph Smith Papers Project
  • Scott Randall Baugh (b. 1962), American Republican politician, who served in the California State Assembly from 1995–2000 4
  • Laura Zonetta Baugh (b. 1955), American golfer, writer and golf broadcaster, who played the LPGA Tour for 25 years
  • ... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2013, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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