2000
#12,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,164
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Badgley
From the English place name Badgeley, referring to someone from a pasture or clearing in a forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,368 Americans carry the last name Badgley. That puts it at #13,983 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,744 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Badgley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 144,744
Census rank
#13,983
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,065 bearers of the surname Badgley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13983rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Badgley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Badgley
The surname Badgley is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from a place name, potentially a location known as "Badge's Leigh" or "Badge's Ley," with "ley" meaning a meadow or a clearing in Old English. This suggests that the name may have been derived from a person named Badge or a variation thereof, who resided in or was associated with such a place.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Badgley can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273 during the reign of King Edward I. The entry mentions a person named Richard de Baggeleye, indicating the presence of this surname or a similar variant in the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Badgeley, Badgely, and Badgeley, in medieval records from different parts of England. For example, the Feet of Fines for Essex from 1349 mentions a John Badgeley, while the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1381 list a Robert Badgely.
Interestingly, the Badgley surname has also been associated with the town of Baddeley Green in Staffordshire, England. This place name is believed to have derived from the Old English words "bæd" and "leah," meaning "bed" and "meadow" or "clearing," respectively. It is possible that some individuals bearing the Badgley surname may have originated from or had connections to this area.
One notable individual with the Badgley surname was John Badgley (c. 1580-1630), an English lawyer and landowner from Warwickshire. He held various positions of authority and served as a Member of Parliament for Warwick in 1624.
Another prominent figure was Joseph Badgley (1760-1839), a United Empire Loyalist who fled from Pennsylvania to Nova Scotia during the American Revolutionary War. He later settled in Upper Canada (now Ontario) and became a prominent figure in the early days of the province.
In the 19th century, William Badgley (1801-1888), a Canadian lawyer and judge, made significant contributions to the legal system of Lower Canada (now Quebec). He served as a judge of the Superior Court of Lower Canada and was instrumental in establishing the Quebec Bar Association.
The name Badgley also appears in literary circles, with Cecil Badgley (1892-1961), an American poet and writer known for her works on nature and spirituality.
Finally, Robert Badgley (1909-1995) was a renowned American architect who designed several notable buildings, including the First Federal Reserve Bank Building in Houston, Texas, and the Amarillo Club in Amarillo, Texas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Badgley
Among Census respondents with the surname Badgley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Badgley bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Badgley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,911
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 61
- Two or more races3.0% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Badgley
Badgley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,197
+33 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 785 places
2020
#13,983
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,065
-132 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 212 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,986 | 2,164 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,771 | 2,197 | 0.74 | +33 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 785 places |
| 2020 | #13,983 | 2,065 | 0.69 | -132 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 212 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Badgley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,771 | #13,983 | -1.5% |
| Count | 2,197 | 2,065 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.69 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Badgley bearers went from 2,197 to 2,065 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 212 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,771 to #13,983.
FAQ
Badgley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Badgley?
Name Census estimates that about 2,368 living Americans carry the surname Badgley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,744 residents.
How common is Badgley?
Badgley ranks #13,983 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,065 people with the surname Badgley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,368), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Badgley.
Has Badgley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Badgley went from 2,197 recorded bearers to 2,065. That is a decrease of 132 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,771 to #13,983.
What does the Census say about the background of Badgley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Badgley, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Badgley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,911 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Badgley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (3.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Badgley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Badgley mean?
From the English place name Badgeley, referring to someone from a pasture or clearing in a forest. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Badgley (0.69 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Badgley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.