The Beecher surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,755 people carried this name — #5,978 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 51,300 people counted. That is up 9% from 5,268 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Beecher surname

As an English and Welsh surname

An early record he cites: Henry le Beechur (also Becchur), Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 91 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 84 people named Beecher live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 38
Neuquén 36
Córdoba 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

63 families named Beecher, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 339 people lived in those households, 5.4 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

Connecticut 57
New York 2
Pennsylvania 2
Maryland 2

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

Beecher in American newspapers,
1874.

Newspaper page from Knoxville Journal carrying the name Beecher
Knoxville Journal 1874-09-03
Newspaper page from The Toledo Chronicle carrying the name Beecher
The Toledo Chronicle 1874-08-27
Newspaper page from Knoxville Journal carrying the name Beecher
Knoxville Journal 1874-09-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Beecher in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

12,640 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Beecher. The most, 2,268, date from the 1880s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 4,483
Victoria 3,305
South Australia 1,964
Queensland 1,264
Western Australia 842
Tasmania 698
ACT (Canberra) 48
Northern Territory 19

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

Who carried it

People named Beecher,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lyman Beecher
    Lyman Beecher 1775–1863 · writer
  • Catharine Beecher
    Catharine Beecher 1800–1878 · writer
  • Edward Beecher
    Edward Beecher 1803–1895 · writer
  • Susan Beecher d. 2000 · human rights defender
  • Isaac Beecher d. 1690
  • William Beecher 1628–1694 · politician

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 Beecher,
in the records of 5 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 States753 records

753 records of the Beecher name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 241
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 191
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 102
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 91
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 69
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 51
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  • 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 John F. Beecher

    Born 1900 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1941 at Jamaica, New York; meat cutter. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1969, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Israel Beecher

    Arrived at New York in 1886 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 19; laborer. From Hamburg, Russia; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Wilbert Cecil Beecher

    Born 1931; from South Miami, Florida. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; declared dead 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 753 records for Beecher in the United States.

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

Australia123 records

123 records of the Beecher name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 67
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 26
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 19
  • Tasmanian Names Index 10
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  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 Catherine Beecher

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Waverley, sailing from London Dublin in 1847. Native of Newmarket, Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Florence Beecher

    Arrived in Queensland in 1911 aboard the Osterley, aged 34.

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

    Retired carpenter of Elwood, Victoria; died 1965.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 123 records for Beecher 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). 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).

Canada23 records

23 records of the Beecher name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 10
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Robert Hamilton Beecher

    Buried in 1998 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 47.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Stephen Phillip Beecher

    Died 1969 in Springhill, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    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 Peter Beecher

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 23 records for Beecher in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · 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).

Netherlands7 records

7 records of the Beecher name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Hermanna Theresia Beecher

    Baptised in 1703 in Arnhem.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Maria Theodora Beecher

    Baptised in 1696 in Arnhem.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Andreas Willhelmus Beecher

    Baptised in 1701 in Arnhem.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Beecher in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Beecher name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Paulette Beecher

    Born 1909 in Calais (Pas-de-Calais); died 1976 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Beecher.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Beecher 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 Beecher volume
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