2000
#2,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,703
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.34
Uncommon Last name
Beckwith
From the Old English words "bēce" meaning brook and "worð" meaning enclosure, referring to someone who lived near a brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,258 Americans carry the last name Beckwith. That puts it at #3,034 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beckwith 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 Beckwith with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 25,853
Census rank
#3,034
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,562 bearers of the surname Beckwith in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3034th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckwith, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beckwith
The surname Beckwith originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from a place name referring to a brook or stream, with the Old English words "bece" meaning stream and "wið" meaning a small wood or thicket near water.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a place called "Beckwith" in Yorkshire. This suggests that the surname likely emerged from this location.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the name began appearing more frequently in historical records, particularly in the northern counties of England. Variations in spelling included Beckwith, Bekwith, and Beckworth.
Notable individuals bearing the Beckwith surname throughout history include Sir Roger Beckwith (c.1420-1492), a member of the Yorkist faction during the Wars of the Roses; Thomas Beckwith (1537-1586), an English clergyman and translator; and Josiah Beckwith (1733-1808), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Continental Congress.
In the 18th century, the Beckwith family established itself as a prominent landowning family in Yorkshire, with their ancestral seat located at Feldkirk Hall near Thirlwall Castle, which was originally built by the Beckwiths in the 14th century. Sir Thomas Beckwith (1772-1831), a British army officer and diplomat, was born at Feldkirk Hall.
Another notable figure was John Beckwith (1789-1862), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a rear admiral. His son, John Beckwith (1815-1887), followed in his footsteps and also had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy.
The Beckwith surname continued to be found throughout England and later spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, as individuals emigrated from Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beckwith
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckwith, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Beckwith 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 Beckwith surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 9,146
- Black or African American12.3% · 1,427
- Two or more races4.2% · 490
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 347
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 97
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beckwith
Beckwith 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
#3,020
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,876
+173 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 4.03
Rank movement Down 211 places
2020
#3,034
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,562
-314 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.87
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,809 | 11,703 | 4.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,020 | 11,876 | 4.03 | +173 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 211 places |
| 2020 | #3,034 | 11,562 | 3.87 | -314 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 14 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 Beckwith 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 | #3,020 | #3,034 | -0.5% |
| Count | 11,876 | 11,562 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 4.03 | 3.87 | -4.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beckwith bearers went from 11,876 to 11,562 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,020 to #3,034.
FAQ
Beckwith surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beckwith?
Name Census estimates that about 13,258 living Americans carry the surname Beckwith. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,853 residents.
How common is Beckwith?
Beckwith ranks #3,034 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,562 people with the surname Beckwith. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,258), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Beckwith.
Has Beckwith become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beckwith went from 11,876 recorded bearers to 11,562. That is a decrease of 314 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,020 to #3,034.
What does the Census say about the background of Beckwith?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckwith, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (12.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Beckwith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (9,146 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beckwith appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (12.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Beckwith (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 Beckwith mean?
From the Old English words "bēce" meaning brook and "worð" meaning enclosure, referring to someone who lived near a brook. 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 Beckwith (3.87 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 Beckwith?
You can see how many people are called Beckwith on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.