The beadle Surname
beadle Name Meaning and History
English: occupational name for a medieval court official, from
Middle English bedele (Old English bydel, reinforced by
Old French bedel). The word is of Germanic origin, and akin to
Old English beodan ‘to command’ and Old High German
bodo ‘messenger’. In the Middle Ages a beadle in England and
France was a junior official of a court of justice, responsible for
acting as an usher in a court, carrying the mace in processions in
front of a justice, delivering official notices, making proclamations
(as a sort of town crier), and so on. By Shakespeare’s day a beadle
was a sort of village constable, appointed by the parish to keep
order.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
Search for beadle records
More resources for your beadle family history
Beadle message board
Threads: 120 - Messages: 302
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The beadle name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the beadle family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the beadle last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.com for all of your beadle ancestors.
- Create and publish your own family history book using Ancestry Press.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.com homepage.