Explore the Family Name Birdsey

The meaning of Birdsey

English (Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire): altered form of the Lancashire gentry surname Bardsley, brought to Buckinghamshire in the 15th century and simplified there from the 16th century onward to Bardsey and Birdsey. History: The surname (together with the variant Birdseye) was brought to CT from England in the 17th century. Birds Eye frozen food took its brand-name from the founder’s surname, Clarence Frank Birdseye II of Montclair, NJ.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Birdsey in the United States?

The surname Birdsey, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, was ranked 70,906th in popularity in 2000 and rose slightly to 70,645th in 2010, indicating a change of 0.37%. The number of people with this surname increased by 7.78% during the same period from 257 in 2000 to 277 in 2010. However, its proportion per 100,000 people fell by 10% from 0.1 in 2000 to 0.09 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#70,906	#70,645	0.37%
Count	257	277	7.78%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.09	-10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Birdsey

In terms of ethnic identity, the Birdsey surname predominantly aligned with White ethnicity based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, about 98.05% of those with the Birdsey surname identified as White, which decreased marginally to 96.03% in 2010. There were no individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black or Hispanic in either 2000 or 2010. Notably, there was a new appearance of American Indian and Alaskan Native identification among those named Birdsey in 2010, while there were still no individuals identifying as part of two or more races.

	2000	2010	Change
White	98.05%	96.03%	-2.06%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	2.17%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%