# Bigelow (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/bigelow/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Middle English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,650 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,086 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 26,502 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.6% (11,354 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɪɡəloʊ/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Biglow |

## Etymology

Habitational surname from a minor place in Cheshire, from Middle English big (“big”) + low (“mound, hill”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Bigelow in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Bigelow in the United States.

## People named Bigelow

- Kathryn Bigelow, American filmmaker (born 1951)
- Bam Bam Bigelow, American professional wrestler (1961-2007)
- Jacob Bigelow, American botanist, physician, and educational reformer (1787-1879)
- Julian Bigelow, American computer scientist (1913-2003)
- John Bigelow, American diplomat, lawyer and politician (1817–1911)
- Henry Bryant Bigelow, American oceanographer (1879–1967)
- Howard Elson Bigelow, American mycologist (1923-1987)
- Henry Jacob Bigelow, American surgeon (1818–1890)
- Charles Bigelow, American graphic and type designer
- Poultney Bigelow, American writer (1855–1954)
- Bob Bigelow, American basketball player (1953–2020)
- John Milton Bigelow, American botanist (1804-1878)

## Similar surnames

Bigley, Beasley, Buckley, Boswell, Bagley, Bagwell, Begley, Basile, Bosley, Bickel, Baxley, Bogle.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.