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Beach History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Beach History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Beach surname, of Norman ancestry, was a name given to a person who lived near a stream, or a person who lived near a prominent beech tree, or area wooded with beech trees. The two different landmarks were referred to by the same Old English root, beche.

Early Origins of the Beach family

The surname Beach was first found in Hertfordshire where Gosfrid le Beche was sometimes known as Geoffrey de Bec, one of the principal holders and tenant-in-chief of land in that shire as recorded by the Domesday Book in the year 1086. He was from Beche in Normandy and accompanied William the Conqueror into England at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Amongst other villages he also owned Aldenham, Cokenach, Eastwick, Hailey, Lilley, Langley and many others in Hertfordshire.

Robert de Beche, c. 1100, witnessed a charter of William Peveril of Dover and Goisfrid de Bech was a tenant in capite, Hertford, 1086. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Jacob de la Beche, Oxfordshire; Matilda de la Beche, Cambridgeshire; and William de la Beche, Oxfordshire. 2

Early History of the Beach family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beach research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1538 and 1539 are included under the topic Early Beach History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beach Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Beach, Beche, Beck, Becke, Beache, Bech, Beech and many more.

Early Notables of the Beach family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Beach or Beche (d. 1539), the last Abbot of St...

Beach Ranking

In the United States, the name Beach is the 945^th most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. 3

Beach migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Beach or a variant listed above:

Beach Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Beach, who landed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1635 4
Richard Beach, who arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635 4
Richard Beach, (Beckley), from Hampshire who arrived in Boston Massachusetts in 1637 aboard the ship "Hector", bound for Wethersfield
Elias Beach, aged 23, who landed in Maryland in 1637 4
Thomas Beach, who landed in New Haven, Connecticut in 1638 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Beach Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Antho Beach, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 4
William Beach, who landed in Virginia in 1713 4
Wilhelm Beach, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 4

Beach Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Reuben C Beach, who arrived in New York in 1832 4
W E, Beach Jr., who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
W L Beach, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
W R Beach, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
G W Beach, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Beach migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Beach Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Sgt. John Beach U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 5
Mr. Samuel Beach U.E. who settled in Ernestown, Lennox & Addington, Ontario c. 1783 5
Mr. Stephan Beach U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1783 5

Beach Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Joseph Beach, who landed in Canada in 1828
Abraham Beach, who arrived in Canada in 1834

Beach migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Beach Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Beach, English convict who was convicted in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Martin Beach, (Brien, O'Brien, Beech), (b. 1808), aged 29, Irish labourer who was convicted in County Offaly (King's County), Ireland for 7 years for assault, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in 19th April 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he was executed in 1843 7
Mr. Richard Beach, (b. 1813), aged 31, Irish soldier who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 14 years for desertion from the army, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 9th April 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
John Beach, aged 17, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Lord Hungerford"

Beach migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Beach Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Beach, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864
Catherine Beach, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864
Mrs. Mary Beach, (b. 1839), aged 27, British domestic servant travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Bombay" arriving in Lyttelton, South Island, New Zealand on 18th August 1866 9
John Beach, aged 36, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Conflict" in 1874
Mary A. Beach, aged 30, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Conflict" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Beach (post 1700) +

Brigadier-General Maurice Milton Beach (1903-1987), American Commanding General of the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing (1942-1945) 10
Brigadier-General George Corwin Beach Jr. (1888-1948), American Commandant Brooke Medical Center Fort Sam Houston (1942-1946) 11
William D Beach (1856-1932), United States Army Brigadier General
Rex Beach (1877-1949), American novelist and playwright
Alfred Ely Beach (1826-1896), American editor and inventor who built a pneumatic subway under Broadway in New York City in 1870
Amy Marcey Cheney Beach (1867-1944), American pianist and composer
Moses Yale Beach (1800-1868), American publisher, who established the New York Sun
William Vincent Beach (1903-1995), English Navy Surgeon Rear-Admiral
Michael Edward Hicks Beach (1837-1916), 1st Earl St Aldwyn, English statesman
General Sir William Gerald Hugh Beach GBE, KCB, MC (1923-2019), British Army officer, Master-General of the Ordnance (1977–1981)

Historic Events for the Beach family +

Fraterville mine

Mr. Henry C. Beach (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 12

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) Maurice Beach. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Beach/Maurice_Milton/USA.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) George Beach. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Beach/George_Corwin_Jr./USA.html
News paper article Fraterville Mine Disaster retrieved on 6th August 2021. (Retrieved from http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/fraterville.htm).