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Bellingham Family History

Bellingham Name Meaning

English: habitational name from any of the places called Bellingham in Greater London (formerly in Kent) and Northumberland. The former is named with Old English Beringahām ‘homestead (Old English hām) of the followers of Be(o)ra’ a byname meaning ‘bear’; the latter seems to have been originally named as the ‘homestead of the dwellers at the bell’ from Old English belle used in a transferred sense of a bell-shaped hill.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Ellingham, Billingham, Allingham, Gillingham, Dillingham, Burlingham

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Bellingham family from?

You can see how Bellingham families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bellingham family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1841 and 1920. The most Bellingham families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1880 there were 19 Bellingham families living in Minnesota. This was about 22% of all the recorded Bellingham's in USA. Minnesota had the highest population of Bellingham families in 1880.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bellingham surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Bellingham ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farm Laborer and Clerk were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Bellingham. 18% of Bellingham men worked as a Farm Laborer and 34% of Bellingham women worked as a Clerk. Some less common occupations for Americans named Bellingham were Clerk and Librarian. .

View Census Data for Bellingham | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farm Laborer
    18%
  • Engineer
    12%
  • Operator
    12%
  • Clerk
    12%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Clerk
    34%
  • Waitress
    23%
  • Housewife
    23%
  • Librarian
    23%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Bellingham family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 26,000 census records available for the last name Bellingham. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bellingham census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Bellingham

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Bellingham. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Bellingham immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 1,000 military records available for the last name Bellingham. For the veterans among your Bellingham ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Bellingham military records

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What is the average Bellingham lifespan?

Between 1956 and 2004, in the United States, Bellingham life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1966, and highest in 2003. The average life expectancy for Bellingham in 1956 was 49, and 84 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bellingham

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