Find out how popular the last name Bellingham is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bellingham.

Bellingham, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bellingham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bellingham in America

Bellingham is the 47614th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bellingham surname appeared 445 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bellingham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bellingham to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bellingham

The surname Bellingham originated in England, and the earliest records of this name can be traced back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old English words "bell" and "inga," which together mean "the dwellers at the bell house" or "the people living near the bell." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a bell tower or a place where bells were made or used.

The surname Bellingham is closely associated with the town of the same name in Northumbria, England. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town was recorded as "Bellingaham," which supports the theory that the name originated from the Old English words mentioned earlier.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bellingham surname dates back to 1166 when Henry de Bellingaham was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland. Another early record is from 1221, when Richard de Bellingham was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire.

In the 13th century, the surname Bellingham was also found in various parts of Yorkshire, including Robert de Bellingham, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1279.

Sir Roger Bellingham (1519-1604) was a prominent figure in Tudor England. He served as the Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1597 to 1599 and played a significant role in suppressing the Nine Years' War in Ireland.

Another notable bearer of the Bellingham surname was Richard Bellingham (1592-1672), who was an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and served as the governor of the colony from 1641 to 1642 and again from 1654 to 1665.

In the 18th century, Sir William Bellingham (1714-1793) was a prominent British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy and was later appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Gibraltar.

John Bellingham (1770-1811) was a British merchant and assassin who gained notoriety for assassinating Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in 1812.

Lastly, Lytton Bellingham (1850-1914) was a British actor and playwright who gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for his roles in numerous plays and productions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bellingham

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bellingham.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bellingham was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bellingham has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bellingham was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bellingham, please contact us.

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