2000
#14,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,869
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Beckstead
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "homestead by a stream" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,486 Americans carry the last name Beckstead. That puts it at #13,429 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beckstead 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
2.5K
1 in 137,874
Census rank
#13,429
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,168 bearers of the surname Beckstead in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13429th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckstead, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beckstead
The surname Beckstead originated in England and can be traced back to the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "bece" meaning a brook or stream, and "stede" meaning a place or farm. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a brook or stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire in 1327, where it appears as "William de Bekstede". The "de" prefix indicates the name was originally a place name before becoming a surname.
In the 15th century, the name was also recorded in Norfolk as "Becksted" and "Beksted". This variation in spelling was common in those times before standardized spelling became widespread.
The Beckstead name appears to have originated in the county of Staffordshire, where there were several small villages and hamlets with names incorporating "beck" or "brook", such as Beckbury and Beckford.
One notable early bearer of the name was John Beckstead, a yeoman farmer from Staffordshire who was recorded in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524.
In the 16th century, the Beckstead family had established themselves in the village of Brewood in Staffordshire. The parish records from that time mention several Becksteads, including Thomas Beckstead (born c. 1540) and his son William Beckstead (born c. 1570).
Another prominent Beckstead was Robert Beckstead, a merchant and alderman in the city of London in the early 17th century. He was born in Staffordshire around 1580 and became a successful trader in the capital.
During the English Civil War in the 1640s, a soldier named Richard Beckstead fought on the Parliamentarian side and participated in the Battle of Naseby in 1645.
In the 18th century, the Beckstead family had spread to other parts of England, with records showing them in counties like Derbyshire and Warwickshire. One notable figure from this time was Samuel Beckstead (1725-1801), a wealthy landowner and justice of the peace in Derbyshire.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beckstead
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckstead, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Beckstead 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 Beckstead surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 2,018
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 72
- Two or more races2.7% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beckstead
Beckstead 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
#14,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,078
+209 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 222 places
2020
#13,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,168
+90 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 953 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,604 | 1,869 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,382 | 2,078 | 0.70 | +209 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 222 places |
| 2020 | #13,429 | 2,168 | 0.73 | +90 bearers (+4.3%) | Up 953 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 Beckstead 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 | #14,382 | #13,429 | 6.6% |
| Count | 2,078 | 2,168 | 4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.73 | 3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beckstead bearers went from 2,078 to 2,168 (+4.3% change). The surname moved up 953 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,382 to #13,429.
FAQ
Beckstead surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beckstead?
Name Census estimates that about 2,486 living Americans carry the surname Beckstead. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,874 residents.
How common is Beckstead?
Beckstead ranks #13,429 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,168 people with the surname Beckstead. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,486), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Beckstead.
Has Beckstead become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beckstead went from 2,078 recorded bearers to 2,168. That is an increase of 90 (+4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,382 to #13,429.
What does the Census say about the background of Beckstead?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckstead, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Beckstead in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (2,018 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beckstead appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Beckstead (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 Beckstead mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "homestead by a stream" in Old English. 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 Beckstead (0.73 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 Beckstead?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.