BEAUCHAMP
Recorded variant spellings include Beau Champ
Beauchamp is a surname of French origin which entered the British Isles following the Norman Conquest of 1066. Its etymology derives from the Old French words beau, meaning *beautiful*, and champ, meaning *field* or *plain*, so that the name is understood to denote a *beautiful field* or *beautiful plain*.
As a locational surname it identified a person who lived near a celebrated landscape or who hailed from one of several places in France named Beauchamp, for example in La Manche or the Somme. After the Norman influence in England, the name was anglicised and appears in many early English documents.
The earliest recorded spelling is that of Hugo de Belcamp in the Domesday Book of 1086, written while King William I, known as “The Conqueror”, reigned. Subsequent entries show the Latinised form de Bello Campo for William in the 1161 Knights’ Templars Records of London, Robert de Beauchamp as a witness in the 1203 Fine Court Rolls of Essex, and Thomas de Becham in the 1327 Somerset County Rolls.
Church registers in London provide further evidence of the surname’s persistence. For example, a christening record from St. Margaret Pattens dated 29 June 1634 names Thomas, son of William and Dorothy Beauchamp. A marriage at St. Benet’s, Paul’s Wharf on 5 January 1661 records the union of Ralph Beauchamp and Elizabeth Fox. The christening of Matthew, son of Edward and Martha Beauchamp, at St. Sepulchre’s on 15 December 1700 is also preserved.
The House of Beauchamp was a noble family established in England during the 11th century, with members who held several lordships awarded by William the Conqueror. The name remained common among the Anglo‑Saxon aristocracy and the peerage into the Tudor period.
In England, several orthographic variants have appeared, including Beachamp, Beachem, and De Beauchamp. In French, the surname may be pronounced more literally, whereas in English it is commonly rendered as Beecham. Examples of further variants are Beauchamps, Beaucham, Beauchan, Beecham, Becham, Beauchaine, and Bochamp. Similar names such as Beauchmin or Beauchum are recipients of the same root but are not necessarily derived directly from Beauchamp.
While the surname remains common in the United Kingdom, it has also survived in other English‑speaking countries, particularly Argentina and Brazil, though in a reduced form. In modern times, the name is most commonly found in the United States, especially in states such as California, Texas, and Florida, with significant numbers also in Canada, Australia, and France.
Typical given names associated with the Beauchamp surname
Male
- Adrian
- Anthony
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Robert
- Simon
Female
- Barbara
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elaine
- Elizabeth
- Frances
- Jane
- Karen
- Linda
- Margaret
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Beauchamp in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 2,029 people named Beauchamp in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,166th most common surname in Britain. Around 31 in a million people in Britain are named Beauchamp.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Beauchamp
- Evelyn Beauchamp - Present at opening of Tutankhamun's tomb (1901 to 1980)
- Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick - Countess (1426 to 1492)
- Brograve Beauchamp - Politician (1897 to 1976)
- Joey Beauchamp - Football player
- Kay Beauchamp - Activist (1899 to 1992)
- Anne Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick - Countess born in Wales (1444 to 1449)
- Elizabeth Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny - Baroness (1415 to 1448)
- John Beauchamp - Cricketer (1825 to 1911)
- Mary Elizabeth Beauchamp - -born American teacher, writer (1825 to 1903)
- William Beauchamp-Proctor - Admiral (1781 to 1861)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.