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Beal Family History

Beal Surname Meaning

English (of Norman origin): variant of Beale from Old French bel(e) ‘fair lovely’ (see Beau) either a nickname for a handsome man or a metronymic from this word used as a female personal name. English (northern): habitational name from any of the places so named in Northumberland and Yorkshire.

The former of these (Behil in early records) is named with Old English bēo ‘bee’ + hyll ‘hill’; the latter (Begale in Domesday Book) with Old English bēag ‘ring’ here probably used in the sense ‘river bend’ or an unattested personal name Bēaga derived from this word + halh ‘nook recess’ (see Beagle).

An additional source may be Beald a farm in Cambridgeshire recorded as Bele super Dedhil c. 1195. In Lincolnshire the surname is perhaps from a word or name for a farm derived from Scandinavian bøli ‘farm’.

French (Béal): topographic name for someone who lived by a mill race from the Lyonnaise dialect term béal bezale bedale (of Gaulish origin).

Americanized form of German Biehl Biel or Bühl (see Buehl).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Beal family from?

You can see how Beal families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Beal family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Beal families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 69 Beal families living in Massachusetts. This was about 17% of all the recorded Beal's in USA. Massachusetts had the highest population of Beal families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Beal surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Beal ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Housewife were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Beal. 17% of Beal men worked as a Laborer and 8% of Beal women worked as a Housewife. Some less common occupations for Americans named Beal were Truck Driver and Clerk.

View Census Data for Beal | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    17%
  • Farmer
    17%
  • Salesman
    4%
  • Truck Driver
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housewife
    8%
  • Housekeeper
    8%
  • Maid
    7%
  • Clerk
    6%

What Beal family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 148,000 census records available for the last name Beal. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Beal census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Beal

Passenger Lists

There are 23,000 immigration records available for the last name Beal. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Beal immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 22,000 military records available for the last name Beal. For the veterans among your Beal ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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