2000
#660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.47
Uncommon Last name
Beard
An occupational surname referring to someone who wore a beard or worked as a barber.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 52,517 Americans carry the last name Beard. That puts it at #738 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,527 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beard surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Beard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
53K
1 in 6,527
Census rank
#738
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
46K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 45,797 bearers of the surname Beard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 738th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beard, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beard
The surname BEARD is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "beerd," which means "hair on the chin and jaw." It is an occupational surname given to someone who had a prominent beard or who worked as a beard-trimmer.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century, with records showing it in Cambridgeshire, England, as early as 1273. It was also recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279, where it appeared as "Berd."
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as "Berd," "Berde," and "Berdd," in records across England, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327 and the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Berd, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1344.
The name BEARD can also be found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, where it was recorded as "Berde" in the county of Lincolnshire.
Notable individuals with the surname BEARD include:
1. Thomas Beard (c. 1520-1577), an English Puritan clergyman and writer.
2. Richard Beard (1801-1885), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and England.
3. Daniel Carter Beard (1850-1941), an American illustrator, author, and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America.
4. Amanda Beard (born 1981), an American former competitive swimmer and seven-time Olympic medalist.
5. Tyler Beard (born 1988), an American professional basketball player.
The name BEARD has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Beardsley, Beardmore, and Beardall, which may have contributed to the development of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beard
Among Census respondents with the surname Beard, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Beard bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Beard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 33,021
- Black or African American19.2% · 8,789
- Two or more races4.3% · 1,954
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,517
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 267
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 249
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beard
Beard appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,207
+1,079 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 16.34
Rank movement Down 61 places
2020
#738
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 45,797
-2,410 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 15.32
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #660 | 47,128 | 17.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #721 | 48,207 | 16.34 | +1,079 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 61 places |
| 2020 | #738 | 45,797 | 15.32 | -2,410 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 17 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Beard surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #721 | #738 | -2.4% |
| Count | 48,207 | 45,797 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 16.34 | 15.32 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beard bearers went from 48,207 to 45,797 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #721 to #738.
FAQ
Beard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beard?
Name Census estimates that about 52,517 living Americans carry the surname Beard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,527 residents.
How common is Beard?
Beard ranks #738 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 45,797 people with the surname Beard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (52,517), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Beard.
Has Beard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beard went from 48,207 recorded bearers to 45,797. That is a decrease of 2,410 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #721 to #738.
What does the Census say about the background of Beard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beard, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (19.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Beard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (33,021 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.1%), Black (19.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Beard (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Beard mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who wore a beard or worked as a barber. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Beard (15.32 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Beard?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.