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

Biggs, 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 Biggs surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Biggs in America

Biggs is the 1581st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Biggs surname appeared 22,641 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Biggs.

We can also compare 2010 data for Biggs 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 Biggs

The surname Biggs is of English origin, derived from the medieval personal name Bigg or Bigge, which was a nickname for a stout or plump person. This nickname likely evolved from the Old English word "bygg," meaning barley or a type of coarse grain.

The name Biggs can be traced back to the 13th century in various English records. One of the earliest known references is in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, which mentions a William Bigge. The Bigges family was also recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296.

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, such as Bigge, Bygg, and Bygges, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 include a reference to a Johannes Bigges.

The Domesday Book, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Biggs, as it predates the widespread adoption of hereditary surnames.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Biggs was John Biggs, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the 15th century. He was a prominent figure in the city of Bristol and served as the Mayor of Bristol in 1439.

Another notable person with the surname Biggs was Walter Bigg, a 16th-century English clergyman and scholar. He was born in Norfolk around 1505 and later became the Bishop of Norwich, serving from 1536 until his death in 1549.

In the 17th century, the Biggs surname was associated with several notable figures, including Nathaniel Biggs, an English mathematician and astronomer born in 1623. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1667.

William Biggs, a 17th-century English physician and botanist, was born in 1670. He is best known for his work on plant classification and his contributions to the study of medicinal plants.

During the 18th century, John Biggs, a British explorer and navigator, gained recognition for his voyages to the South Pacific. He was born in 1745 and led several expeditions to explore and map various islands in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Biggs

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

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

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

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