Beale
A surname that can come from a place name, an open pass, or the French nickname le Bel, meaning “the handsome one.”
The #4,764 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,548 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Beale has more than one plausible origin. In English records it can be locational, from Beal in Durham, a place-name connected with a narrow opening or pass between hills; some sources also connect it with an old personal name. Another common explanation is French le Bel, meaning “the fair” or “the handsome,” which would make it a descriptive nickname that later became a surname.
History
The name appears in medieval English records in forms such as Le Beale, which supports an early French descriptive origin in some cases. At the same time, English local surnames from Beal and similar place-names also produced the modern spelling Beale. Because of that, the surname has probably arisen independently in more than one family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower specifically notes that the medieval form Le Beale may point to the French le Bel rather than a place-name.
From the historical record
“BEAK. See Beke. BEALE. BEAL. 1. A hamlet in the detached portion of Durham. 2. An open- ing between hills ; a narrow pass. Jamie- son. Ferguson thinks it an ancient per- .soual name. Beli, the Scandinavian giant, was slain by Freyr. But Le Beale is found in H.R. BEALES. See Beale. BEAMISH. The Beamishes of co. Cork…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom