Biddegode History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the name Biddegode are from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the Old English name Biggegod. The name is made up of two Old English elements: bigge, which means big or large, and god, which means good. "The Anglo-Saxon guth-boda would mean "a war messenger." The Old Norse bodi is a messenger, and gunn, gunnur, gud, Old High German, gund, gunt, war." 1

Early Origins of the Biddegode family

The surname Biddegode was first found in Somerset, where the earliest form of the name is Biggegod. 2

Kirby's Quest listed John Biggegod, Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 3

Early History of the Biddegode family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Biddegode research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1349, 1369, 1524, 1606, 1621, 1624, 1640, 1641, 1642, 1690 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Biddegode History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Biddegode 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 Biddegode family name include Bidgood, Bidgoode, Biddgood, Biggegod, Bydgood and many more.

Early Notables of the Biddegode family

Distinguished members of the family include John Bidgood (1624-1690), a leading member of the College of Physicians. He was the son of Humphrey Bidgood, an apothecary of Exeter, was born in that city 13 March 1624. "His father was poisoned in 1641 by his servant, Peter Moore, a crime for...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Biddegode Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Biddegode family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Biddegode surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Richard Bidgood, who arrived in Boston in 1638.

Citations +

Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.