2000
#1,448
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,634
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.39
Uncommon Last name
Biggs
An English occupational surname referring to someone of large stature or great power and strength.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 25,293 Americans carry the last name Biggs. That puts it at #1,588 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,551 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Biggs 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 Biggs with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
25K
1 in 13,551
Census rank
#1,588
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
22K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,057 bearers of the surname Biggs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1588th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Biggs, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Biggs
Among Census respondents with the surname Biggs, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Biggs 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 Biggs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.9% · 17,173
- Black or African American12.8% · 2,814
- Two or more races4.2% · 927
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 835
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 160
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 148
Timeline
Historical Census data for Biggs
Biggs 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
#1,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,641
+7 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 7.68
Rank movement Down 133 places
2020
#1,588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,057
-584 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 7.38
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,448 | 22,634 | 8.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,581 | 22,641 | 7.68 | +7 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 133 places |
| 2020 | #1,588 | 22,057 | 7.38 | -584 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 7 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 Biggs 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 | #1,581 | #1,588 | -0.4% |
| Count | 22,641 | 22,057 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 7.68 | 7.38 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Biggs bearers went from 22,641 to 22,057 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,581 to #1,588.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Biggs
FAQ
Biggs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Biggs?
Name Census estimates that about 25,293 living Americans carry the surname Biggs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,551 residents.
How common is Biggs?
Biggs ranks #1,588 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,057 people with the surname Biggs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (25,293), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Biggs.
Has Biggs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Biggs went from 22,641 recorded bearers to 22,057. That is a decrease of 584 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,581 to #1,588.
What does the Census say about the background of Biggs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Biggs, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Biggs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.9% (17,173 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Biggs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.9%), Black (12.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Biggs (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 Biggs mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone of large stature or great power and strength. 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 Biggs (7.38 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 many Americans have the surname Biggs?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.