2000
#22,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,072
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.40
Rare Last name
Bedingfield
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "the open field of a man named Beda."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,294 Americans carry the last name Bedingfield. That puts it at #23,249 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 264,880 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bedingfield 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bedingfield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.3K
1 in 264,880
Census rank
#23,249
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,128 bearers of the surname Bedingfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23249th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bedingfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bedingfield
The surname Bedingfield has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from the villages of Bedingfield in Suffolk and Norfolk. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "bede," meaning prayer or petition, and "feld," meaning field, suggesting a connection to a field where religious services or prayers were held.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Bedingefella." This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 11th century.
The Bedingfield family held significant influence and land in Suffolk during the Middle Ages. One notable member was Sir Thomas Bedingfield (c. 1420-1492), who served as a knight and member of Parliament during the Wars of the Roses. He was a staunch supporter of the House of York and fought alongside Edward IV at the Battle of Towton in 1461.
Another prominent figure was Sir Henry Bedingfield (c. 1517-1583), who served as a courtier and jailer to Mary, Queen of Scots during her imprisonment. He was tasked with guarding the Scottish queen at various locations, including Tutbury Castle and Chartley Hall.
In the 17th century, Sir Thomas Bedingfield (c. 1620-1692) was a Catholic loyalist who fought for King Charles I during the English Civil War. He was eventually captured and imprisoned for his allegiance to the royalist cause.
The name Bedingfield also has links to the village of Oxborough in Norfolk, where the Bedingfeld family constructed the impressive Oxburgh Hall in the 15th century. This moated manor house remains one of the finest examples of late medieval architecture in England.
Another notable figure was Sir Robert Bedingfeld (c. 1600-1662), a Member of Parliament and ardent supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War. He was a member of the High Court of Justice that tried and convicted King Charles I.
Throughout its history, the Bedingfield surname has been associated with various spellings, including Bedingfeld, Bedingfelde, and Bedingfild, reflecting regional variations and changes in orthography over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bedingfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Bedingfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bedingfield 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 Bedingfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 1,010
- Two or more races4.5% · 51
- Black or African American2.7% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bedingfield
Bedingfield 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
#22,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,137
+65 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Down 189 places
2020
#23,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,128
-9 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Down 657 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,403 | 1,072 | 0.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #22,592 | 1,137 | 0.39 | +65 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 189 places |
| 2020 | #23,249 | 1,128 | 0.38 | -9 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 657 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 Bedingfield 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 | #22,592 | #23,249 | -2.9% |
| Count | 1,137 | 1,128 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.39 | 0.38 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bedingfield bearers went from 1,137 to 1,128 (-0.8% change). The surname moved down 657 positions in the national ranking, going from #22,592 to #23,249.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bedingfield
FAQ
Bedingfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bedingfield?
Name Census estimates that about 1,294 living Americans carry the surname Bedingfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 264,880 residents.
How common is Bedingfield?
Bedingfield ranks #23,249 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,128 people with the surname Bedingfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,294), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Bedingfield.
Has Bedingfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bedingfield went from 1,137 recorded bearers to 1,128. That is a decrease of 9 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #22,592 to #23,249.
What does the Census say about the background of Bedingfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bedingfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Black (2.7%). 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 Bedingfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (1,010 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bedingfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Black (2.7%). 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 Bedingfield (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 Bedingfield mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "the open field of a man named Beda." 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 Bedingfield (0.38 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 common is the surname Bedingfield?
See how many people have the surname Bedingfield on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.