2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Beckette
A surname of Norman origin, derived from the French word 'becquet' meaning beak or snout.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Beckette. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beckette 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.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Beckette in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckette, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (9.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beckette
The surname Beckette originates from England in the late Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "bæc" meaning a stream or brook, and "hythe" meaning a small landing place or port. The earliest known spelling of the name was "Bechette" in records dating back to the late 13th century.
The name is believed to have arisen as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near a small port or landing place on a stream or brook. This suggests the name's origins may have been in coastal or riverside areas of southern or eastern England where such geographic features were common.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were administrative records documenting land ownership in medieval England. The entry lists a "Robert de Bechette" as holding lands in the county of Essex.
By the 14th century, variations like "Bekette" and "Bekett" had emerged. The name is found in tax records and property deeds from places like Kent, Sussex, and Norfolk during this period. A John Bekette is recorded as living in the village of Tenterden, Kent in 1327.
Notable early bearers of the name include William Bekette, a merchant and alderman in the city of London who lived from around 1380 to 1450. Another was Robert Beckett, a chaplain who served King Henry VI in the 1440s.
As the centuries passed, the spelling evolved further into forms closer to the modern "Beckette". John Beckette, born in 1539 in Sandwich, Kent, was an influential figure in the town's maritime trade and local government. Ambrose Beckette (1584-1642) was a lawyer from Worcestershire who served as a member of parliament.
Other notable individuals with the Beckette surname have included Richard Beckette (1722-1804), a renowned landscape artist from Yorkshire, and George Beckette (1804-1876), a clergyman and writer who published works on theology and church history.
Overall, the long history of the surname Beckette reflects its origins as a locational name rooted in the geographic features and settlements of medieval England, particularly in southern coastal regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beckette
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckette, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (9.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Beckette 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 Beckette surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.6% · 75
- Black or African American18.0% · 20
- Two or more races9.9% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beckette
Beckette 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+21 bearers (+21.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,132 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,361 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +21 bearers (+21.0%) | Up 12,132 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 10,361 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 Beckette 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 | #138,304 | #148,665 | -7.5% |
| Count | 121 | 111 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beckette bearers went from 121 to 111 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 10,361 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #148,665.
FAQ
Beckette surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beckette?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Beckette. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Beckette?
Beckette ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Beckette. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Beckette.
Has Beckette become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beckette went from 121 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Beckette?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckette, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Two or More Races (9.9%). 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 Beckette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.6% (75 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beckette appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.6%), Black (18.0%), Two or More Races (9.9%). 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 Beckette (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 Beckette mean?
A surname of Norman origin, derived from the French word 'becquet' meaning beak or snout. 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 Beckette (0.04 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 people have the last name Beckette?
See how many people are called Beckette on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.