| ![Show Contents]() Becke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of BeckeWhat does the name Becke mean? Becke is a local name from the German region of Westphalia. Local names came to Germany with other types of hereditary surnames after the 12th century. They were derived from the name of the place where the original bearer of the name lived. Sometimes local names bear the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from". It was an indication of land-ownership, and was sometimes taken as a mark of aristocracy. The 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 Becke familyThe surname Becke 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 Becke familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Becke 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 Becke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Becke Spelling VariationsMany cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Becke include Beck, Bech, Bech, Beche, Becke, Bec, Becce and many more. Early Notables of the Becke familyJohann 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 Mannheim 1731, died at Bourdeaux 1809, violinist and composer...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Becke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Becke migration to the United States | + |
After 1650, thousands of German settlers came to North America to escape the religious persecution and poverty that wracked Europe and to make the most of the opportunity to own their own land in a new country. They settled across the United States in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, and in Canada in Ontario and on the fertile plains of the prairie provinces. Among them:
Becke Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Thomas Becke, who landed in Virginia in 1631 2
Becke Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Frans Becke, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1793 2
- 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)
- 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)
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