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

Beshears, 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 Beshears surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Beshears in America

Beshears is the 14842nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Beshears surname appeared 1,996 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Beshears.

We can also compare 2010 data for Beshears 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 Beshears

The surname BESHEARS is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is likely derived from the Old English words "besc" and "haeran," which together meant "dweller by the brier patch." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who lived near a particularly notable area of thorny bushes or brambles.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it is listed as "Beatrix de Beshers," referring to a landholder in Staffordshire. The spelling varies in old documents, with forms like "Beshers," "Beshures," and "Beschers" appearing over the centuries.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was concentrated primarily in the West Midlands region of England, particularly in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. This may indicate that the original bearers of the name hailed from this area.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with this surname was Richard Beshears (c. 1515-1587), a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Coventry. He played a role in the local government and was involved in various civic affairs during his lifetime.

Another early individual of note was John Beshears (c. 1570-1635), a landowner and farmer from Warwickshire who is mentioned in several land records and tax rolls from the early 1600s.

Moving forward in time, one of the most famous bearers of the BESHEARS name was Sir William Beshears (1688-1765), a successful businessman and politician who served as a member of Parliament for the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the mid-18th century.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name spread beyond its traditional West Midlands heartland as families migrated to other parts of England and eventually to other countries, particularly the United States and Canada.

One notable American with this surname was Josiah Beshears (1824-1912), a Union Army veteran who fought in the American Civil War and later became a prominent farmer and community leader in Illinois after the war.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Beshears

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

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

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

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