Beverely
A feminine given name originating from an Old English place name.
Name Census estimates that about 172 living Americans carry the first name Beverely. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Beverely today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beverely births was 1945 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beverely. 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 Beverely is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Beverelys were born before 1963.
People living today
172
~ 1 in 1,992,758 Americans
Peak year
1945
16 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1969 SSA rank
#6,697
Tracked since 1930
Popularity
Beverely: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beverely from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 111 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Beverely remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beverely 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 Beverely 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 Beverely
The name Beverely has its origins in the Old English language and can be traced back to the 7th century. It is derived from the combination of two words: "beofor," meaning beaver, and "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing. Therefore, the name Beverely originally referred to a beaver meadow or a clearing frequented by beavers.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Beferlic" or "Beferlicum," reflecting the Old English pronunciation. As the language evolved, the spelling gradually changed to the modern form of "Beverely" or its variants, such as "Beverly" or "Beverley."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a place called "Beverlicum" in Yorkshire, which likely took its name from the beaver meadow.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Beverely. One of the earliest was Beverley of York (c. 700-721), a Christian saint and scholar who became the Bishop of York in the early 8th century. His life and teachings were recorded in the Venerable Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English People."
Another prominent figure was Beverley Robinson (1723-1792), an American loyalist during the Revolutionary War. Born in Virginia, he sided with the British and served as a colonel in the Loyalist militia. His estate, known as the Beverly Robinson House, is now a historic site in New York.
In the literary world, Beverley Nichols (1898-1983) was a renowned English author, best known for his books on gardening and his autobiographical works. His most famous work, "Down the Garden Path," was published in 1932 and celebrated the joys of gardening.
The name Beverely has also been associated with the arts. Beverley Cross (1931-1998) was a British playwright and screenwriter, famous for his work on the television series "Coronation Street" and the film "Walter," for which he received an Academy Award nomination.
Finally, Beverley Raphael (1939-2020) was an Australian psychiatrist and pioneering researcher in the field of traumatic stress. She made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was recognized with numerous awards for her work.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Beverely throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich legacy of this name with its origins rooted in the Old English language and the imagery of a beaver meadow.
People
Beverely + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beverely 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
Beverely: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beverely?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 172 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beverely 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 1,992,758 US residents.
Is Beverely a common name?
We classify Beverely as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 335 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beverely most popular?
The single biggest year for Beverely was 1945, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beverely is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Beverely a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beverely 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.
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.