Beckem
A feminine name of English origin meaning "little stream near a house".
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Beckem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beckem today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beckem births was 2013 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beckem. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
2013
21 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,919
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Beckem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beckem from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 156 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Beckem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beckem by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Beckem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Beckems live
Origin
Meaning and history of Beckem
The given name Beckem is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, emerging during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries AD. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "bec" and "ham," meaning "stream" and "homestead" respectively, suggesting that it may have initially referred to someone who lived near a stream or a hamlet by a stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Beckem dates back to the Domesday Book, a vast survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in several entries, indicating its usage among the Anglo-Saxon population at the time.
Throughout history, the name Beckem has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Beckem of Wessex, a minor noble who lived during the reign of King Alfred the Great in the 9th century. Another notable figure was Beckem the Scribe, a monk known for his exceptional calligraphy skills, who lived in a monastery in Northumbria in the 11th century.
In the 12th century, Beckem of Lincoln was a prominent merchant and landowner whose name appears in various records of the time. Several centuries later, Beckem Hawkins, born in 1642, was a renowned English explorer who is credited with charting several uncharted islands in the Pacific Ocean.
During the 18th century, Beckem Wilberforce, born in 1759, was a prominent abolitionist and a close friend of William Wilberforce, the British politician who played a pivotal role in the abolition of the slave trade. Wilberforce's efforts were greatly supported by Beckem, who used his influence and wealth to further the cause.
While the name Beckem may have fallen out of fashion in more recent times, its rich history and connection to the Anglo-Saxon heritage of Britain make it a significant part of the country's cultural tapestry.
People
Beckem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beckem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Beckem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beckem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beckem going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Beckem a common name?
We classify Beckem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 258 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beckem most popular?
The single biggest year for Beckem was 2013, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beckem is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Beckem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beckem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beckem in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Beckem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beckem in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Beckem can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Beckem?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Beckem at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.