Beckstrom History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
Germany

The name Beckstrom comes from the German region of Westphalia. The tradition of adopting hereditary surnames came to Germany after the 12th century, and the names of places where people lived were a primary source. Many local names carry the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from," which was originally an indicator of land ownership, and is sometimes a mark of nobility. The Beckstrom family originally lived in northern or southern Germany.

In the north, the name was derived from the German word "bach" or "beke" which mean "stream," meaning the original bearer of this surname lived by a stream or a brook.

To the south, the name was an occupational name for a "baker."1 As a baker, or perhaps the son of one, he held a unique position in the village and could afford an oven for which the primary activity was using that oven to make bread, perhaps often baking dough brought to him by other town folk who did not have access to an oven.

Early Origins of the Beckstrom family

The surname Beckstrom was first found in Westphalia, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as that of a notable family in the region. German archives include a document from as early as the year 1245 wherein is mentioned one Simon Bek, who was then a citizen of Leipzig.

Early History of the Beckstrom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beckstrom research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1489, 1676, 1722, 1731, 1757, 1761, 1780, 1809, 1832 and 1840 are included under the topic Early Beckstrom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beckstrom Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Beckstrom include Beck, Bech, Bech, Beche, Becke, Bec, Becce and many more.

Early Notables of the Beckstrom family

Notables of the period with the name Beckstrom were Johann Georg Beck or Johann Georg Baek (1676-1722), a German engraver; Christian Daniel Beck (1757-1832), who was a well-known scholar of Latin and Greek; Jakob Sigismund Beck (1761-1840) was a Danzig-born philosopher known for his interpretation of Kant. Franz Beck, born at...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beckstrom Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beckstrom migration to the United States +

For many Germans, emigration to North America was an inviting alternative to the trials of life in the old country. From the mid-17th into the present century, thousands of Germans migrated across the Atlantic. They capitalized on the chance to escape poverty and persecution, and to own their own land. After 1650, Germans settled throughout the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also landed in Canada, settling in Ontario or father west on the rich land of the prairies. Among them:

Beckstrom Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anna Maria Asp Beckstrom, who settled in New York, NY in 1849
Gustaf Beckstrom, who settled in Illinois in 1860

Contemporary Notables of the name Beckstrom (post 1700) +

Herman F. Beckstrom, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Michigan State Senate 23rd District, 1952 2

Citations +

Bahlow, Hans, Dictionary of German Names. translated by Edda Gentry, Wisconsin: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-924119-35-7)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html