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

Bidwell, 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 Bidwell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bidwell in America

Bidwell is the 7167th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bidwell surname appeared 4,667 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Bidwell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bidwell 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 Bidwell

The surname Bidwell is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the place name Bidwell, which is found in both Somerset and Devonshire. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English words "byd" meaning "dwelling" and "well" referring to a spring or stream, suggesting that the name refers to a dwelling near a well or stream.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Bidwell can be found in the Feet of Fines for Devonshire in 1242, where a William de Bydewelle is mentioned. This reference suggests that the name was already well-established by the 13th century.

The Bidwell surname has been documented in various historical records throughout the centuries. In the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1662-1666, several Bidwell families were recorded living in Devonshire and Somerset. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1628, indicating its spread across different regions of England.

Notable individuals with the surname Bidwell include John Bidwell (1819-1900), an American pioneer and founder of the city of Chico, California. Another prominent figure was Walter Bidwell (1785-1872), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Halberton in Devonshire.

In the 16th century, Thomas Bidwell (c. 1530-1585) was a prominent English churchman who served as the Archdeacon of Buckingham and later became the Dean of Salisbury Cathedral. Richard Bidwell (c. 1600-1647) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1647.

Barnabas Bidwell (1763-1833) was an American Revolutionary War soldier and landowner in Massachusetts. He was a direct descendant of one of the earliest Bidwell settlers in America, Richard Bidwell, who arrived in Hertford, Connecticut in the 1630s.

While the Bidwell surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through migration and settlement patterns. However, the earliest recorded examples and historical references to the name can be traced back to its English origins and the locational name from which it derived.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bidwell

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

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 Bidwell 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 Bidwell 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 Bidwell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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