17,483 Global BIDDLE Family Members

BIDDLE Family History

The primary source of this interesting surname is the Olde English pre 7th Century "bydel", beadle. Reinforced by the Old French "bedel", the word is ultimately of Germanic origin, and related to the Olde English "beodan", to bid, command, and the Old High German "bodo", messenger. In the Middle Ages a beadle was a junior official of a court of justice, whose duties included acting as an usher in a court, delivering official notices, carrying the mace in processions, and making proclamations (as a sort of town crier).