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

Bodily, 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 Bodily surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bodily in America

Bodily is the 17097th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bodily surname appeared 1,660 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bodily.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bodily 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 Bodily

The surname Bodily is believed to have originated in England during the late 12th or early 13th century. It is thought to be an occupational name derived from the Old English word "bodian," meaning "to announce" or "to proclaim." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been town criers or messengers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bodily name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which list a William Bodily residing in Oxfordshire. Another early reference is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, mentioning a John Bodili.

The name Bodily appears to have been particularly prevalent in the southern counties of England, such as Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset. Some variations in spelling can be found in historical records, including Bodili, Bodely, and Bodyly.

In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the Bodily surname was John Bodily, a merchant from Bristol who lived from around 1510 to 1580. He was involved in the thriving wool trade and served as the Mayor of Bristol in 1557.

During the 17th century, the Bodily name appears in various parish records across England. One such example is William Bodily, who was baptized in Stratfield Turgis, Hampshire, in 1632.

Another noteworthy individual with the Bodily surname was Sir Nicholas Bodily, a Member of Parliament for Gloucester in the late 17th century. He was born in 1642 and played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which saw the overthrow of King James II.

In the 18th century, the Bodily name can be found in various military records. For instance, John Bodily served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) and fought in the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

As the Bodily surname spread across England, it also found its way to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to various colonies and settlements around the world. However, its roots can be traced back to the occupational origins in medieval England, where the name first emerged.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bodily

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

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

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

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