boy's name
Beckham
BEK-am
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 21,828
the United States
#168
2025 births
Beckham is a boy's name of Old English origin meaning "homestead by the stream." It is an English place name and surname, and its use as a first name is owed entirely to one footballer.
- Beckham is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 2,243 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,483 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1902.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Beckham over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 26 |
| 1920s | 27 |
| 2000s | 1,005 |
| 2010s | 8,199 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 11,382 |
What Beckham means
Beckham means the homestead or settlement by a beck. The first element is either the Old Norse bekkr, a stream, or a personal name Becca, and the second is ham, a homestead.
Where Beckham comes from
Beckham is a place name from Norfolk, where Beckham combines a first element — either bekkr, a stream, or the Old English personal name Becca — with ham, a homestead or village. Families from the parish took it as a surname. Its life as a first name is precisely datable: David Beckham's career from the mid-1990s made the surname globally recognisable, and our records show the given name climbing from that point. It is among the clearest examples in our data of a surname turned first name by a single living person.
Beckham in use
Our data shows Beckham peaking in 2024 and still rising, and it first appears in our records in 1902 — but was effectively unused until the 2000s. That gap between first record and real use is the signature we see in Jenson, Dawson and Marley: an old name whose modern life has a single external cause.
How popular is Beckham?
In 2025, Beckham was given to 2,235 babies in the United States, ranking #168 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Beckham 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 Beckham
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Beckham also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Beckham over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Beckham
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Beckham 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 Beckham
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Beckham — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Beckham
What does the name Beckham mean?
Beckham means "homestead by the stream," from a Norfolk place name.
Is Beckham named after David Beckham?
Its use as a first name is, almost entirely. The place name and surname are medieval.
Is Beckham used in Britain?
Rarely as a first name, despite the association. Its rise is American.
How popular is the name Beckham?
In 2025, Beckham was given to 2,235 babies in the United States, ranking #168 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Beckham a girl's or a boy's name?
Beckham is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Beckham?
Beckham has 2 syllables.
When was Beckham most popular?
Beckham peaked in 2024, when 2,243 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Beckham?
Beckham is usually shortened to Beck.
Is Beckham a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Beckham currently ranks #168 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.