2000
#53,191
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 365
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Beh
A surname of German or Dutch origin meaning 'brook' or 'stream'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 677 Americans carry the last name Beh. That puts it at #40,105 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 506,284 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beh 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
677
1 in 506,284
Census rank
#40,105
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
590
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 590 bearers of the surname Beh in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 40105th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beh, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%) and Black (13.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beh
The surname "Beh" has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Low German word "beie," which means "a hive or a swarm of bees." The name was likely given to someone who lived near a beehive or worked as a beekeeper.
Early records of the name can be found in various medieval documents from the German regions of Saxony and Thuringia. One of the earliest recorded instances was in a land registry from the town of Erfurt in 1287, where a certain "Johannes Beh" was listed as a landowner.
By the 15th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany, with variations in spelling such as "Behe," "Behe," and "Behe." In 1492, a manuscript from the city of Nuremberg mentioned a "Hans Behe," who was a prominent merchant and trader in the region.
During the 16th century, the name gained prominence in the northern German states, particularly in the areas around Hamburg and Bremen. Notable individuals with the surname include Johann Beh (1537-1612), a renowned theologian and professor at the University of Rostock, and Christoph Beh (1578-1648), a renowned jurist and legal scholar from the city of Lübeck.
In the 17th century, the name found its way to the Netherlands, where it was often spelled as "Beeh" or "Bey." One of the earliest recorded instances was in a church register from the city of Amsterdam in 1624, which listed the baptism of a child named "Pieter Beeh."
As the name spread across Europe, it also made its way to England, where it was often anglicized to "Bee" or "Bees." In the 18th century, there were several notable figures with this surname, including John Bee (1725-1807), a prominent English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London.
Other notable individuals with the surname "Beh" include Friedrich Beh (1818-1892), a German composer and music educator; Ernst Beh (1863-1939), a German painter and illustrator; and Hermann Beh (1890-1952), a German politician and member of the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beh
Among Census respondents with the surname Beh, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%) and Black (13.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Beh 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 Beh surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.9% · 265
- Asian and Pacific Islander34.1% · 201
- Black or African American13.7% · 81
- Two or more races3.9% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beh
Beh 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
#42,308
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 513
+148 bearers (+40.5%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 10,883 places
2020
#40,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 590
+77 bearers (+15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Up 2,203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #53,191 | 365 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,308 | 513 | 0.17 | +148 bearers (+40.5%) | Up 10,883 places |
| 2020 | #40,105 | 590 | 0.20 | +77 bearers (+15.0%) | Up 2,203 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 Beh 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 | #42,308 | #40,105 | 5.2% |
| Count | 513 | 590 | 15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.20 | 16.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beh bearers went from 513 to 590 (+15.0% change). The surname moved up 2,203 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,308 to #40,105.
FAQ
Beh surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beh?
Name Census estimates that about 677 living Americans carry the surname Beh. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 506,284 residents.
How common is Beh?
Beh ranks #40,105 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 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 590 people with the surname Beh. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (677), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 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 Beh.
Has Beh become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beh went from 513 recorded bearers to 590. That is an increase of 77 (+15.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #42,308 to #40,105.
What does the Census say about the background of Beh?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beh, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%) and Black (13.7%). 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 Beh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.9% (265 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beh appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (44.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (34.1%), Black (13.7%). 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 Beh (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 Beh mean?
A surname of German or Dutch origin meaning 'brook' or 'stream'. 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 Beh (0.20 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 common is the surname Beh?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Beh, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.