Beckley
A masculine English name derived from a place name meaning "meadow of birch trees".
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the first name Beckley. It is a predominantly female name (95.9% of registrations). The average person named Beckley today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beckley births was 2020 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beckley. 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
122
~ 1 in 2,809,462 Americans
Peak year
2020
20 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2015 SSA rank
#8,502
Tracked since 2015
Gender
Gender distribution for Beckley
Beckley leans heavily female at 95.9% of total registrations, but 5 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Beckley as a male name
- Ranked #12,296 in 2015
- 5 male births in 2015
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
Beckley as a female name
- Ranked #8,502 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (20 births)
Popularity
Beckley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beckley from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 70 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beckley 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 Beckley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Beckleys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Beckley
The name Beckley is of English origin, derived from a place name that refers to a meadow or clearing near a stream or brook. The name can be traced back to the Old English words 'bece' meaning brook or stream, and 'leah' meaning a meadow or clearing.
This name was particularly common in areas of England where there were settlements near brooks or streams, such as in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. It was often used as a surname for people who lived in or near these settlements.
While there are no known references to the name Beckley in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is recorded in historical documents dating back to the 11th century. One of the earliest recorded examples is from the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a place called 'Bechelai' in Oxfordshire.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the first name Beckley. One of the earliest was Beckley Willoughby (1670-1748), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire.
Another prominent figure was Beckley Furnace (1794-1858), an American businessman and ironmaster who founded the Beckley Furnace Company in Virginia. This company played a significant role in the industrialization of the region.
In the 19th century, Beckley Horton (1817-1891) was a prominent American architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
More recently, Beckley Mason (born 1986) is an American professional basketball player who has played for various teams in the NBA and international leagues.
Additionally, Beckley Simmons (1948-2020) was an American sculptor and artist known for her large-scale abstract sculptures, many of which are displayed in public spaces across the United States.
People
Beckley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beckley 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
Beckley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beckley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 122 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beckley 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 2,809,462 US residents.
Is Beckley a common name?
We classify Beckley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 123 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beckley most popular?
The single biggest year for Beckley was 2020, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beckley is about 6 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 Beckley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beckley a female name?
Yes, 95.9% of people registered as Beckley in the SSA data are female. 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 Beckley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beckley 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 Beckley 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 Beckley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Beckley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.