The Beckham surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,960 people carried this name — #3,575 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,600 people counted. That is up 9% from 9,178 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Beckham surname

From Old English personal name Becca + hām (“homestead”).

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

26 families named Beckham, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 174 people lived in those households, 6.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

North Carolina 7
Pennsylvania 6
Virginia 6
South Carolina 6
Maryland 1

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

Beckham in American newspapers,
1909–1916.

Newspaper page from The Commercial carrying the name Beckham
The Commercial 1909-11-19
Newspaper page from The Commercial carrying the name Beckham
The Commercial 1911-11-03
Newspaper page from Iowa County Democrat carrying the name Beckham
Iowa County Democrat 1916-09-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 37,900 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Beckham in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1970s.

2,720 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Beckham. The most, 526, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 1,545
New South Wales 635
Queensland 382
South Australia 58
Tasmania 54
Western Australia 35
ACT (Canberra) 11

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

Who carried it

People named Beckham,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph B. Cobb
    Joseph B. Cobb 1819–1858 · writer
  • William Beckham
    William Beckham 1866– · community leader
  • J. C. W. Beckham
    J. C. W. Beckham 1869–1940 · lawyer
  • Walter C. Beckham
    Walter C. Beckham 1916–1996
  • Constance Emily Pemberton 1868–
  • Norm Beckham 1903–1983 · Australian rules football player

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 Beckham,
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 States505 records

505 records of the Beckham name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 332
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 144
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 11
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert L. Beckham

    Born 1923 in Georgia. Enlisted 1943 at Fort McPherson Atlanta; construction laborer from Pierce County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Shiloh Cemetery, Blackshear, Georgia.

    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 Jerry Lee Beckham

    Born 1947; from Tulsa, Oklahoma. U.S. Army, aircraft armament repairman; killed in action 1967 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    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 Patrick Beckham

    Arrived at New York in 1870 aboard the England from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 28; laborer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 505 records for Beckham 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). 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).

Australia103 records

103 records of the Beckham name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 49
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 39
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sarah Beckham

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849. Married 1849 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 John Beckham

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Andromeda, arriving 1830; ticket of leave 1839.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Harmony, aged 1; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 103 records for Beckham in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); 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).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Beckham name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John J. Beckham

    Died 1898 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. 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 James Beckham

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Beckham

    Married 1883 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Beckham in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Beckham 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. Beckham

    Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. G. Beckham

    Durham Light Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Beckham

    Rifle Brigade. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for Beckham in the United Kingdom.

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 Beckham.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Beckham 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.

See the Beckham volume
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