Beverley
From an English place name, ultimately derived from Old English meaning "beaver stream".
Name Census estimates that about 5,282 living Americans carry the first name Beverley. It is a predominantly female name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Beverley today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beverley births was 1938 (414 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beverley. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Beverley with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Beverley is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 407 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Beverley is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Beverleys were born before 1964.
People living today
5.3K
~ 1 in 64,891 Americans
Peak year
1938
414 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1963 SSA rank
#3,684
Tracked since 1912
Census
Beverley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,734 people with the first name Beverley, which placed it at #2,348 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,348
National first-name rank
People counted
11K
10,734 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beverley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Beverley is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Beverley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Beverley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.1% · 7,313
- Black or African American25.5% · 2,739
- Two or more races3.4% · 368
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 151
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 115
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 48
Gender
Gender distribution for Beverley
Beverley leans heavily female at 97.0% of total registrations, but 407 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Beverley as a male name
- Ranked #3,684 in 1963
- 6 male births in 1963
- Peak: 1922 (16 births)
Beverley as a female name
- Ranked #12,333 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1938 (407 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Beverley leans strongly female. 10,598 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 132 male bearers (1.2%).
Popularity
Beverley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beverley from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 3,608 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beverley 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 Beverley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Beverleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Beverley, while Wyoming, Rhode Island, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 226 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Beverley
The name Beverley originated in the 7th century from the Old English word "Beofor-leah", which translates to "beaver-clearing". It was derived from the town of Beverley in East Yorkshire, England, where a community of beavers once resided near a clearing or meadow.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, the name was commonly used to refer to individuals from the town of Beverley or those associated with the area. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 8th century, when it appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Beverley held a strong association with Saint John of Beverley, an influential Bishop of York in the 7th century. His veneration as a saint contributed to the name's popularity, particularly in regions under the influence of the Church of England.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Beverley was Beverley Minster, a renowned English architect and master mason who lived in the 13th century. He was responsible for the construction of the magnificent Beverley Minster, a Gothic cathedral in the town of Beverley.
In the 16th century, Beverley Whiting (c. 1505 - 1587) gained recognition as an English gardener and botanist. He is credited with introducing several plant species to England and contributing to the development of horticulture during the Tudor period.
Another notable figure was Beverley Randolph (1754 - 1789), an American politician and one of the earliest governors of Virginia. He played a significant role in the early years of the United States and was a prominent figure in the Virginia Convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution.
Beverley Robinson (1723 - 1792), an American Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War, was a prominent figure in New York and served as a colonel in the British army. Despite his allegiance to the British crown, he maintained a close friendship with George Washington.
In the 19th century, Beverley Nichols (1898 - 1983) was a renowned English author, playwright, and composer. He is best known for his witty and insightful works on gardening, as well as his autobiographical novels that captured the spirit of the English upper class.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Beverley, showcasing its enduring presence and significance across various fields and time periods.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Beverley
People
Beverley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beverley 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
Beverley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beverley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,282 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beverley 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 64,891 US residents.
Is Beverley a common name?
We classify Beverley as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,457 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beverley most popular?
The single biggest year for Beverley was 1938, when 414 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beverley is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Beverley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,734 people with the name Beverley, or 3.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,348 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Beverley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Beverley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Beverley leans strongly female. 10,598 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 132 male bearers (1.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Beverley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Beverley is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Beverley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Beverley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (7,313 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Beverley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beverley a female name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Beverley 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 Beverley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beverley 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 Beverley 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.
How many people have the name Beverley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.