Beecher
Usually an English locational surname, originally for someone living by a beech tree or beech wood.
The #5,978 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,648 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Beecher is generally explained from a beech tree or beech wood, with Middle English forms like "beche" or "beech" underlying the name. Some 19th-century writers also connected it with French-looking spellings such as "Le Becher" or "Beau chere," but the beech-tree explanation is the safer and more widely accepted one. In practice, it likely began as a topographic byname for someone who lived near a notable beech tree or in beech woodland.
History
Early records show several spelling variants, including Becher, Le Becher, Le Becchur, and Le Beechur. The name appears in England and later in English-speaking countries, especially the United States. It has also been retained in some Irish and Manx contexts as a spelling variant of related names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Beecher with other tree-based names like Birch, Beeching, and Beechey.
From the historical record
“CO. Staftbrd. See, however, Beke. BEECHER. Becher is found in the H.R, without any prefix. Le Becher, Le Becchur, and Le Beechur, also occur there. BEEDHAM. See Beetham. BEEMAN. BEMAN. Li former times, when mead or methlegn was a favourite beverage, the number of bees kept in Eng- land must have been much larger…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom