Beverley

Where Beverley comes from

From Old English befer (“beaver”) + lēah (“clearing”). Equivalent to Beaver + -ley (“lea”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Beverley
  • From a surname
  • 3 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1912
    First appearance
    #2,634 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1915
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1938
    Peak, #309
    407 babies named Beverley — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1959
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #789.
  5. 1968
    Beverley Allitt born
    English serial killer
  6. 1981
    Beverley Mitchell born
    American actress
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Beverley Mitchell · American actress, born 1981
  • Beverley Allitt · English serial killer, born 1968
  • Beverley Whitfield · Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, 1954–1996
  • Beverley Goddard · British athlete, born 1956
  • Beverley Owen · American actress, 1937–2019

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.