Find out how popular the last name Beaver is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Beaver.

Beaver, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Beaver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Beaver in America

Beaver is the 1665th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Beaver surname appeared 21,640 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Beaver.

We can also compare 2010 data for Beaver to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Beaver

The surname BEAVER is of English origin, deriving from the Middle English word "bever," which referred to the semi-aquatic rodent of the same name. The name likely originated as an occupational surname, given to someone whose trade or occupation involved working with beavers or beaver pelts.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the late 12th century, with references found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a William Bevere is mentioned. During this time, the name appeared with various spellings, such as Bever, Bevere, and Beavre.

In the 13th century, the surname BEAVER can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a Richard le Bevere is listed. This record suggests that the surname may have been derived from a place name, possibly a location associated with beavers or beaver habitats.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname BEAVER was Sir John Beaver (c. 1548-1628), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Middlesex in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

In the 17th century, the surname BEAVER appeared in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, with a John Beaver listed as a freeman in 1632. This suggests that individuals bearing the surname had migrated to the American colonies during the early colonial period.

Another prominent figure was Captain Philemon Beaver (1660-1749), an English naval officer and explorer who commanded several voyages to the West Indies and the Americas in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

In the 18th century, the BEAVER surname gained recognition through the achievements of Philip Beaver (1766-1813), a British engineer and inventor who is credited with developing the first practical method for rendering animal bones into a viable fertilizer.

During the 19th century, the surname was associated with several notable individuals, including Reverend Samuel Ricker Beaver (1825-1897), an American Congregationalist minister and author, and James Addams Beaver (1837-1914), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who later served as the 20th Governor of Pennsylvania.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Beaver

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Beaver.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Beaver was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Beaver has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Beaver was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Beaver, please contact us.

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