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

Bekis, 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 Bekis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bekis in America

Bekis is the 139228th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bekis surname appeared 120 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bekis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bekis 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 Bekis

The surname BEKIS has its origins in the Latvian language and can be traced back to the late 14th century in the region that is now modern-day Latvia. It is believed to have derived from the Latvian word "bēķis," which means "a small stream or brook." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or owned land by a small stream.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BEKIS can be found in the Latvian Revision Lists, a series of census-like records compiled by the authorities in the late 16th century. In these lists, a man named Jānis Bēķis is mentioned as a resident of the village of Līvāni in the year 1589.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name BEKIS appeared in various local parish records and land ownership documents across different parts of Latvia. Notably, in 1712, a man named Andris BEKIS was listed as a landowner in the town of Bauska, which at the time was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In the 19th century, the name BEKIS began to spread beyond the borders of Latvia as people emigrated to other parts of the Russian Empire and later to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable bearer of the name was Kārlis BEKIS (1848-1923), a Latvian poet and playwright who was an influential figure in the national awakening movement of the late 19th century.

Another prominent BEKIS was Jānis BEKIS (1892-1971), a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia from 1927 to 1928. He later represented Latvia as an ambassador to various countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

In the early 20th century, a branch of the BEKIS family settled in the United States, where the name was sometimes anglicized to "Beekis" or "Beekus." One notable American BEKIS was Arvīds BEKIS (1911-1999), a Latvian-American artist and painter who was known for his landscape and still-life works.

While the name BEKIS is not as common as some other Latvian surnames, it continues to be carried by families in Latvia and among the Latvian diaspora around the world, serving as a link to the country's rich cultural heritage and history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bekis

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

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 Bekis 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 Bekis 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 Bekis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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