The Beam surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,972 people carried this name — #2,584 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 21,100 people counted. That is up 6% from 13,230 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Beam surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the beam’.

An early record he cites: Osbarn Atebeame, Essex, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Beam, Beams and Beames.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 87 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

58 families named Beam, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 339 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 35
Virginia 9
New York 4
South Carolina 4
Maryland 3
North Carolina 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 229 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Beam in American newspapers,
1896–1922.

Newspaper page from The Kemmerer Republican carrying the name Beam
The Kemmerer Republican 1922-11-24
Newspaper page from The Progressive Farmer And Southern Farm Gazette carrying the name Beam
The Progressive Farmer And Southern Farm Gazette 1912-01-06
Newspaper page from Canton Weekly Register carrying the name Beam
Canton Weekly Register 1896-11-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,650 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Beam in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

2,831 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Beam. The most, 505, date from the 1930s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 753
New South Wales 694
Queensland 539
South Australia 347
Tasmania 246
Western Australia 183
ACT (Canberra) 36
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Beam.

Who carried it

People named Beam,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ernie Beam
    Ernie Beam 1867–1918 · baseball player
  • Lura Beam
    Lura Beam 1887–1969 · writer
  • Jacob D. Beam
    Jacob D. Beam 1908–1993 · diplomat
  • Carl A. Beam d. 1996 · professor
  • Alex Beam 1869–1938 · baseball player
  • Charles W. Beam 1882–1933 · photographer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Beam,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,070 records

1,070 records of the Beam name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 567
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 184
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 171
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 66
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 42
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 23
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Walter T. Beam

    Born 1924 in New Jersey. Enlisted 1942 at Camden; painter from Cortland County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gordon R. Beam

    Born 1932; from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jacob Beam

    Arrived at New York in 1859 aboard the New York from Bremen and Southampton, aged 50; farmer. From Bavaria, Germany; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,070 records for Beam in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada43 records

43 records of the Beam name in Canada
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 21
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 13
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Howard Beam

    Died 1984, aged 71; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John Beam

    Listed at Halifax, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1792.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William Earl Beam

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 43 records for Beam in Canada.

Counts: Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia19 records

19 records of the Beam name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 13
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alfred Beam

    Sailed from Victoria in 1887 aboard the Neckar I, bound for Sydney, aged 23.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Michael Beam

    Left Launceston in 1851 aboard the Swift, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Chas Beam

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1865.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 19 records for Beam in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Beam name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. E. Beam

    Cambridgeshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Beam.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Beam is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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