Bigertoun History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England

The ancestors of the bearers of the Bigertoun family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in one of several places named Bickerton. Bickerton is the name of various townships in the parish of Malpas in Cheshire in the parish of Rothburg in Northumberland, and in the parish of Bilton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The toponym Bickerton is derived from the Old English beocere, which means bee-keeper, and tun, which originally denoted a fence or enclosure. However this came to mean enclosure round a house, homestead, village or town at an early date. Thus the name can be understood to mean village of the bee-keeper.

Early Origins of the Bigertoun family

The surname Bigertoun was first found in Cheshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Important Dates for the Bigertoun family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bigertoun research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1296, 1429, 1451, 1777, 1643 and 1693 are included under the topic Early Bigertoun History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bigertoun Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Bigertoun include Bickerton, Bickertown, Beckertoun, Bikerton, Bikarton and many more.

Early Notables of the Bigertoun family (pre 1700)

Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bigertoun Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bigertoun family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Bigertoun or a variant listed above: Joan Bickerton who settled in Barbados in 1675; George Bickerton settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; John in Philadelphia in 1773; Thomas settled in New England in 1753..