Beack History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Beack is rooted in the ancient Norman culture that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was a name for someone who was 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 Beack family

The surname Beack 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 Beack family

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

Beack 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 Beack family

Another 46 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beack Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beack 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 Beack or a variant listed above:

Beack Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Isabell Beack, who landed in Maryland in 1658 3
Roger Beack, who landed in Virginia in 1663 3

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)
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)