Given name & surname
Bishop
“a religious overseer”
Bishop is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “a religious overseer.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a religious overseer.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bishop through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,091
- 6,980 boys · 111 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 237 babies
- 2025
- 180
- #1,188 for boys · #11,106 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 172 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,188 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 8 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (24). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,270 as a first name in 2020; 112,014 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bishop’s family of names
Bishop has a related form in Bishopp. Bishop has a related form in Byshop. Bishop has a related form in Byshopp.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Bishop
- Bishop W. PerkinsAmerican politician (1841-1894)
- Bishop SankeyAmerican gridiron football player (born 1992)
- Bishop DolegiewiczCanadian thrower (1953-2008)
- Bishop PerkinsAmerican politician (1787-1866)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bishop, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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