The Bigelow surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,650 people carried this name — #3,086 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,300 people counted. That is up 3% from 11,354 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bigelow surname

Habitational surname from a minor place in Cheshire, from Middle English big (“big”) + low (“mound, hill”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Bigelow» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

144 families named Bigelow, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 824 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. 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

Massachusetts 68
Vermont 26
Connecticut 26
New Hampshire 9
New York 9
Maine 3
Virginia 2
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

Bigelow in American newspapers,
1905–1909.

Newspaper page from Decorah Public Opinion carrying the name Bigelow
Decorah Public Opinion 1905-02-08
Newspaper page from The Denison Review carrying the name Bigelow
The Denison Review 1909-07-21
Newspaper page from The Denison Review carrying the name Bigelow
The Denison Review 1909-07-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 219,493 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bigelow in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

2,704 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bigelow. The most, 623, date from the 1900s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 874
New South Wales 823
Queensland 373
Western Australia 260
South Australia 219
Tasmania 103
ACT (Canberra) 30
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Bigelow,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Madeleine Graburn Bigelow d. 1990
  • Eleazer Bigelow 1705–1762
  • Mercy Kellogg 1709–1795
  • Sarah Bigelow 1727–1814
  • Charles Bigelow 1729–1782
  • Joshua Bigelow 1733–1800

Wikidata (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bigelow,
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 States1,202 records

1,202 records of the Bigelow name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 412
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 282
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 187
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 122
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 112
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 68
  • Sacramento County historic burials 12
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gerald O. Bigelow

    Born 1910 in Washington. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Lewis; manager from Multnomah County, Oregon. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1959, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Minnie Bigelow

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of Rome from Glasgow and Moville, aged 25; tourist. From Glasgow; bound for Boston.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Ralph William Bigelow

    Born 1948; from Delevan, New York. U.S. Army, utility/observation helicopter pilot; killed in action 1970 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,202 records for Bigelow in the United States.

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

Canada236 records

236 records of the Bigelow name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 220
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 9
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Margaret Bigelow

    Buried in 1970 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 42.

    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 William Johnson Bigelow

    Died 1875 in Canso, Guysborough, 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 Ellard Bigelow

    Died in service in 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 236 records for Bigelow in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Australia27 records

27 records of the Bigelow name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 10
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Joshua Cushman Bigelow

    Retired clerk of Parkdale, Victoria; died 1962.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Annie Bigelow

    Arrived in Victoria in 1920 aboard the Suevic, aged 66.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Athol Ernest Bigelow

    Born 1904 in Fingal, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 27 records for Bigelow 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Bigelow name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Herbert Bigelow

    Born 1924 in the United States; died 1994 in Longpont-sur-Orge (Essonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert Edward Bigelow

    Born 1919 in the United States; died 1989 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Bigelow name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sidney Olliver Bigelow

    Married in 1946 in Oosterhout.

    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: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bigelow.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bigelow 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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