Beauchamp
A Norman-French surname meaning “beautiful field” or “fair field,” brought to England after the Conquest.
The #3,023 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,022 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Beauchamp comes from Old French elements meaning “beautiful, fair” (beau) and “field” or “plain” (champ). The literal sense is “beautiful field” or “fair field,” and the name was used for places in France as well as for people from such places. In medieval Latin it appears as de Bello Campo, “of the fair field.”
History
The name was introduced into England after the Norman Conquest by Hugh de Belchamp, also written Beauchamp or de Bello Campo, who was granted many lands by William the Conqueror. Bardsley and Lower both note that English surnames like Fairfield can be parallel forms in meaning. In English usage the surname later acquired many spellings and was often popularly mispronounced as “Beecham.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower says the same name was adapted in different countries into forms like Campbell in Scotland and Schöna(u) in Germany, showing how surname meanings were translated rather than just borrowed.
From the historical record
“BEAU. Fr. Fine, handsome. BEAUCHAMP. This illustrious name is found in many countries of Europe — e. g. in France as Bcauchamp, in Scotland as Campbell, in England as Fairfield, in Ger- many as Schonau, and in Italj' as Cami^o- bello. It was introduced into England at the Norman Conquest by Hugh de Bel- champ…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom