boy's name
Beau
BOH
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 82,138
the United States
#60
2025 births
Beau is a boy's name from the French beau, meaning handsome or beautiful. It entered English not as a name but as a word for a fashionable man, and only later became a given name — it is rarely used as a first name in France itself.
- Beau is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 5,224 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 635 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1932.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Beau over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 5 |
| 1940s | 68 |
| 1950s | 123 |
| 1960s | 472 |
| 1970s | 3,157 |
| 1980s | 7,260 |
| 1990s | 5,651 |
| 2000s | 6,261 |
| 2010s | 18,178 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 25,428 |
What Beau means
Beau means handsome or fine, from the French adjective. In English it also carried the sense of a dandy or a woman's admirer, a usage that shaped how the name was heard long before it was commonly given.
Where Beau comes from
Beau comes from the French beau, from the Latin bellus, meaning fine or handsome. English borrowed it in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as a noun for a man of fashion — Beau Nash and Beau Brummell were both known by it as a nickname rather than a birth name, Brummell in particular defining English dandyism in the Regency period. From there it drifted into use as a personal name, especially in the American South, where it also served as a familiar form of Beauregard. It remains rare as a given name in France, where beau is simply an everyday adjective.
Beau in use
Beau Brummell and Beau Nash both wore the word as a nickname; it became a given name only afterward.
How popular is Beau?
In 2025, Beau was given to 5,224 babies in the United States, ranking #60 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Beau is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Beau
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Beau also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Beau over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Beau in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Beau
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Beau — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Beau
What does the name Beau mean?
Beau means "handsome" or "beautiful," from the French adjective.
Is Beau used as a name in France?
Rarely. In French, beau is an ordinary adjective rather than a given name.
Where did Beau come from as a name?
From the English use of beau for a fashionable man, worn as a nickname by figures like Beau Brummell.
How popular is the name Beau?
In 2025, Beau was given to 5,224 babies in the United States, ranking #60 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Beau a girl's or a boy's name?
Beau is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Beau?
Beau has 1 syllable.
When was Beau most popular?
Beau peaked in 2025, when 5,224 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Beau a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Beau currently ranks #50 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.