Beckhem
A masculine name derived from the surname originating from an English place name and village.
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the first name Beckhem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beckhem today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beckhem births was 2019 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beckhem. 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.
People living today
119
~ 1 in 2,880,289 Americans
Peak year
2019
13 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,011
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Beckhem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beckhem from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 84 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Beckhem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beckhem 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 Beckhem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Beckhem
The name Beckhem has its origins in the Germanic language family, specifically the Old English and Old Norse tongues spoken by the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings who inhabited parts of modern-day Britain and Scandinavia during the early medieval period. It is derived from a combination of the Old English words "bæc" meaning "stream" or "brook" and "ham" meaning "home" or "settlement".
This linguistic heritage suggests that the name was initially used to identify individuals who lived near a particular stream or brook, likely in areas where the Anglo-Saxons or Vikings had established settlements or villages. The name's etymology reflects the importance of geographic features and natural landmarks in naming practices among these ancient cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Beckhem can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This historical document mentions a landowner named Beckhem holding property in the county of Norfolk, England.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period, the name continued to be used across various regions of Britain, particularly in areas with strong Anglo-Saxon or Viking influences. Notable individuals bearing the name Beckhem include Sir William Beckhem, a 14th-century knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War, and John Beckhem, a 16th-century merchant and alderman in the city of London.
In the 17th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Samuel Beckhem (1628-1704), an English Puritan minister and author who was a prominent figure during the Commonwealth period. His works on theology and religious doctrine were widely read and influential in his time.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Beckhem (1745-1819), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars. He rose through the ranks to become an admiral and was knighted for his service to the Royal Navy.
In the 19th century, Beckhem was the name of a prominent family of industrialists and entrepreneurs from the northern English city of Manchester. Among them was Richard Beckhem (1822-1893), a successful cotton manufacturer and philanthropist who funded the construction of several schools and charitable institutions in the region.
People
Beckhem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beckhem 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
Beckhem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beckhem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 119 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beckhem 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 2,880,289 US residents.
Is Beckhem a common name?
We classify Beckhem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 120 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beckhem most popular?
The single biggest year for Beckhem was 2019, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beckhem is about 9 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 Beckhem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beckhem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beckhem 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 Beckhem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beckhem 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 Beckhem 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 are named Beckhem?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Beckhem at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.