The Bickford surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,728 people carried this name — #4,590 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,200 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (7,752).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bickford surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Beckford’.

An early record he cites: (Prior) de Bekeford, Gloucestershire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Beckford and Bickford.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 90 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Bickford was found among the farmers of Staffordshire: 10 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Staffordshire 10

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

89 families named Bickford, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 456 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 49
Maine 20
Massachusetts 16
Vermont 1
Rhode Island 1
New York 1
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 229 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Bickford in American newspapers,
1874–1919.

Newspaper page from The Gordon Journal carrying the name Bickford
The Gordon Journal 1915-11-25
Newspaper page from The Ottawa Free Trader carrying the name Bickford
The Ottawa Free Trader 1874-12-05
Newspaper page from Cresco Plain Dealer carrying the name Bickford
Cresco Plain Dealer 1919-12-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 78,982 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bickford in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

27,402 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bickford. The most, 3,575, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 5.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 18,087
Western Australia 3,576
Victoria 3,250
New South Wales 1,554
Tasmania 446
Queensland 419
ACT (Canberra) 48
Northern Territory 10

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bickford.

Who carried it

People named Bickford,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles David Bickford
    Charles David Bickford 1821– · politician
  • John Charles Bickford
    John Charles Bickford 1836– · politician
  • Andrew Bickford
    Andrew Bickford 1844–1927 · naval officer
  • Andrew Bickford
    Andrew Bickford 1844–1927 · naval officer
  • Sarah Bickford
    Sarah Bickford 1852–1931 · businessperson
  • Mary Bickford 1702–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bickford,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States725 records

725 records of the Bickford name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 303
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 144
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 103
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 65
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 59
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 44
  • Sacramento County historic burials 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Carroll R. Bickford

    Born 1915 in Iowa. Enlisted 1941 at Portland, Maine; shoe factory worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Ralph Nevin Bickford

    Born 1949; from Wichita, Kansas. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Charlotte Bickford

    Arrived at Boston in 1847 aboard the Minstrel from Liverpool, aged 40; servant. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 725 records for Bickford in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia362 records

362 records of the Bickford name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 215
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 68
  • Tasmanian Names Index 51
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 16
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 7
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Ann Bickford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Tasmania, sailing from London in 1844. Native of Plymouth, Devon. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Susan McGinnity Bickford

    Born 1868 in Spring Bay, Tasmania. Married 1898 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 29.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Frank Bickford

    Arrived in Victoria in 1907 aboard the Gneisenau, aged 25.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 362 records for Bickford in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada30 records

30 records of the Bickford name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 21
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harvey Dean Bickford

    Buried in 1974 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 79.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Beatrice Bickford

    Died 1912 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Cyril Erick Bickford

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 30 records for Bickford in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Bickford name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Bickford

    Corporal, London Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Bickford

    Devonshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Bickford

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Bickford name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record George Bickford

    Born 1887 in Dussen.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bickford.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bickford is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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