Heraldry and the Bristol Surname

Spelled Bristol, the surname still points back to Bristow. Its meaning, shared with Bristow, is “From Bristol”.

• Local scribes, dialects and emigration all left their mark on how the name was written.
• The 2010 census count for Bristol in the United States was 7,694, good for rank 4,611. That puts it inside the top 5,000 US surnames. 228 people born in France between 1891 and 2000 carried the Bristol name at birth.
• The same family of names includes Bristoe, Bristle and Bristowe.
• Bristol is listed among the recognised spellings of Bristow.

Family crest and blazon

Arms linked to Bristow and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to. Get the complete Bristol report, with a museum-style coat of arms.