The Beaver surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 21,640 people carried this name — #1,665 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,600 people counted. That is down 1% from 21,963 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Beaver surname

As an English surname, capitalization of beaver. This sense is also translated from several Native American names such as Cheyenne homa'e and Creek Echaswvlke of the same meaning.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Beaver» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘de Beauver’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Adam Bever, Somerset, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Beaver, Beever and Bever.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 89 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

85 families named Beaver, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 493 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 11 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

New York 25
Pennsylvania 20
North Carolina 16
Virginia 13
Maryland 8
South 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

Beaver in American newspapers,
1892–1901.

Newspaper page from The Helena Independent carrying the name Beaver
The Helena Independent 1892-01-24
Newspaper page from The Mirror And Farmer carrying the name Beaver
The Mirror And Farmer 1901-05-30
Newspaper page from The Age-herald carrying the name Beaver
The Age-herald 1901-05-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,023 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Beaver in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

17,383 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Beaver. The most, 2,531, date from the 1880s. New South Wales 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 7,642
Victoria 4,402
South Australia 2,258
Queensland 1,427
Western Australia 1,057
ACT (Canberra) 282
Tasmania 279
Northern Territory 7

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

Who carried it

People named Beaver,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Philip Beaver
    Philip Beaver 1766–1813 · curate
  • Philip Beaver
    Philip Beaver 1766–1813 · curate
  • Francis Beaver
    Francis Beaver 1824–1887 · politician
  • James Addams Beaver
    James Addams Beaver 1837–1914 · judge
  • Ethel Minerva Beaver
    Ethel Minerva Beaver 1881–1957
  • Constance Beaver d. 1949

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Beaver,
in the records of 6 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 States1,551 records

1,551 records of the Beaver name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 791
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 275
  • Other U.S. records 485
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Fred Beaver

    Born 1911 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Tulsa; office clerk from Okmulgee County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Oklahoma.

    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 James Harold Beaver

    Born 1947; from Bradenton, Florida. U.S. Army; died of wounds 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Beaufort National Cemetery, South Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emily Beaver

    Arrived at New York in 1850 aboard the Mountaineer from Penzance, aged 51; farmer. From Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,551 records for Beaver in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · 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).

Australia482 records

482 records of the Beaver name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 321
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 49
  • Other Australian records 112
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Beaver

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Midas, arriving 1827; ticket of leave 1835.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Beaver

    Arrived in Queensland in 1908 aboard the Orotava, aged 36.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Francis S. Beaver

    Master mariner of Northcote, Victoria; died 1884.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 482 records for Beaver 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada350 records

350 records of the Beaver name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 308
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 16
  • Other Canadian records 26
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record John Beaver

    Killed in 1954 at the Dominion No. 25 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Bernard W. Beaver

    Buried in 1987 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 86.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  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 Edmund Beaver

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 350 records for Beaver in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom15 records

15 records of the Beaver name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 10
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Beaver

    Buried in 1851 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 80.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record M. Beaver

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Beaver

    Buried in 1807 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 37.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 15 records for Beaver in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Beaver name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Henriette Louise Beaver

    Died 1903 in Kampen, aged 77.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Daniel Beaver

    Buried in 1698 in Bergen op Zoom.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Beaver name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Isobel Beaver

    Died 1995, aged 80; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Beaver.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Beaver 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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