Beaufort
A French masculine name derived from "beau fort" meaning "beautiful, strong place".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Beaufort. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beaufort today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beaufort births was 1918 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beaufort. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Beaufort is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Beauforts were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Beaufort. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1918
7 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1976 SSA rank
#5,676
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Beaufort: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beaufort from the 1910s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Beaufort remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beaufort by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Beaufort during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Beauforts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Beaufort
The name Beaufort is derived from the Old French words "beau" meaning beautiful and "fort" meaning strong or fortified. It originated in the Middle Ages as a place name referring to a beautiful and fortified town or castle. The name has its roots in the Frankish territories of what is now modern-day France and Belgium.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Beaufort dates back to the 11th century, when it was used to refer to a castle in the county of Anjou in western France. Over time, the name became associated with noble families who held titles and lands in the region.
In the 13th century, a prominent French noble family known as the House of Beaufort emerged. They were descendants of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford. Several members of this family held significant positions of power and influence throughout medieval Europe.
One notable figure bearing the name Beaufort was Henry Beaufort (1375-1447), a powerful English prince who served as Bishop of Winchester and later became a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He played a crucial role in the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.
Another influential individual was Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509), the mother of King Henry VII of England. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses and helped her son establish the Tudor dynasty.
In the 16th century, Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) was a prominent Irish hydrographer and naval officer who developed the Beaufort Wind Scale, which is still used today to measure wind speeds at sea.
During the American Revolutionary War, Marquis de Beaufort (1714-1795), a French naval officer, assisted the American colonists by leading naval operations against the British in the West Indies.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Beaufort, which has its origins in the medieval French territories and has been associated with nobility, military prowess, and significant historical events.
People
Beaufort + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beaufort as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Beaufort: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beaufort?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beaufort going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Beaufort a common name?
We classify Beaufort as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beaufort most popular?
The single biggest year for Beaufort was 1918, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beaufort is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Beaufort in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beaufort a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beaufort in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Beaufort still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beaufort in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Beaufort can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Beaufort?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.