Bigley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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.

Early Origins of the Bigley family

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

Early History of the Bigley family

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.

Bigley Spelling Variations

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.

Early Notables of the Bigley family

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.

Bigley Ranking

In the United States, the name Bigley is the 9,262^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Bigley migration to the United States +

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:

Bigley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Bigley, who arrived in Virginia in 1697 5

Bigley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Bigley, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1785 5

Bigley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

T D Bigley, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1849 5
C Bigley, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
Daniel Bigley, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1854
John Bigley moved to Philadelphia in 1862

Bigley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bigley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jane Bigley, who arrived in Victoria, British Columbia in 1862

Contemporary Notables of the name Bigley (post 1700) +

Billy Bigley Jr. (b. 1962), American NASCAR racing driver from Naples, Florida
Isabel Bigley (1926-2006), American Tony award winning actress, best known for originating the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls
Paul Bigley, English actor, known for his roles in Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Very Thought of You (1998) and Highlander: Endgame (2000)
Kenneth John Bigley (1942-2004), English civil engineer who was kidnapped in Baghdad and later killed by his captors

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"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)