NameCensus.

UK surname

Becket

A surname possibly derived from the French words "bec" (beak) or "becquer" (to peck), referring to someone with a prominent nose or beak-like facial feature.

In the 1881 census there were 605 people recorded with the Becket surname, ranking it #5,796 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 138, ranked #25,127, down from #5,796 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Manchester and Lambeth. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kensington and Chelsea, Gwynedd and East Hertfordshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Becket is 618 in 1851. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 77.2%.

1881 census count

605

Ranked #5,796

Modern count

138

2016, ranked #25,127

Peak year

1851

618 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Becket had 605 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #5,796 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 138 in 2016, ranked #25,127.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 618 in 1851.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Becket surname distribution map

The map shows where the Becket surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Becket surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Becket over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 618 #4,180
1861 historical 472 #5,507
1881 historical 605 #5,796
1891 historical 356 #9,697
1901 historical 286 #12,029
1911 historical 194 #15,250
1997 modern 148 #21,295
1998 modern 157 #21,058
1999 modern 149 #21,924
2000 modern 134 #23,358
2001 modern 132 #23,230
2002 modern 130 #23,903
2003 modern 122 #24,628
2004 modern 121 #24,939
2005 modern 121 #24,947
2006 modern 118 #25,556
2007 modern 121 #25,469
2008 modern 122 #25,638
2009 modern 125 #25,823
2010 modern 130 #25,775
2011 modern 139 #24,507
2012 modern 135 #24,952
2013 modern 141 #24,670
2014 modern 144 #24,504
2015 modern 141 #24,723
2016 modern 138 #25,127

Geography

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Where Beckets are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Manchester, Lambeth, Isleham and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kensington and Chelsea, Gwynedd, East Hertfordshire and Crawley. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 3
2 Manchester Lancashire
3 Lambeth London (South Districts)
4 Isleham Cambridgeshire
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kensington and Chelsea 012 Kensington and Chelsea
2 Gwynedd 005 Gwynedd
3 Kensington and Chelsea 008 Kensington and Chelsea
4 East Hertfordshire 010 East Hertfordshire
5 Crawley 011 Crawley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Becket

These lists show first names that appear often with the Becket surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Becket

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Becket, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Multicultural Inner Suburbs

Nationally, the Becket surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Multicultural Inner Suburbs, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Becket household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house many younger and middle-aged adults with children. All ethnic minorities, apart from those identifying as Pakistani or Bangladeshi, appear to be present in above average proportions. Affiliation to Christian religions is uncommon. Long-term disability rates are low, mirrored in limited provision of unpaid care. Privately rented terrace houses and flats are the norm. Managerial, professional and technical occupations are prevalent, and work is rarely part time. Many individuals have degree level qualifications. These areas form the inner suburbs of many of the UK’s towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Becket is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Becket is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Becket falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Becket is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Becket, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Becket

The surname Becket is of Anglo-Norman origin, derived from the Old French "bec" meaning "beak" or "nib". It likely originated as a nickname for someone with a prominent nose or for an individual who worked as a scribe or clerk, using a quill pen.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 12th century in England. One of the most notable bearers of this surname was Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in 1170 on the orders of King Henry II. His martyrdom and subsequent canonization as a saint brought widespread fame to the name.

During the Middle Ages, the name was found in various spellings, such as Beket, Bequet, and Beckett, reflecting the pronunciation and spelling variations common at the time. Several places in England, such as Becket's Park in Shrivenham, Berkshire, and Becket's Well in Trotton, West Sussex, are named after individuals bearing this surname.

Among the notable historical figures with the surname Becket are:

1. Thomas Becket (c. 1119 - 1170), Archbishop of Canterbury and martyr. 2. William Becket (c. 1190 - c. 1260), English judge and landowner. 3. Sir John Becket (c. 1300 - 1366), English soldier and diplomat. 4. Thomas Becket (c. 1370 - c. 1435), English clergyman and writer. 5. Francis Becket (1579 - 1642), English composer and organist.

The surname Becket has been widely dispersed throughout England and beyond, though it remains particularly concentrated in the southern counties of England, reflecting its Norman origins.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Becket families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Becket surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Buckinghamshire leads with 77 Beckets recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.51x.

County Total Index
Buckinghamshire 77 21.51x
Lancashire 76 1.08x
Middlesex 67 1.13x
Yorkshire 64 1.09x
Surrey 32 1.11x
Hampshire 27 2.22x
Staffordshire 27 1.35x
Suffolk 25 3.47x
Ayrshire 19 4.29x
Norfolk 18 1.98x
Cambridgeshire 17 4.53x
Lincolnshire 17 1.80x
Shropshire 16 3.13x
Berkshire 14 3.15x
Essex 13 1.11x
Cheshire 11 0.84x
Dunbartonshire 11 6.91x
Warwickshire 9 0.60x
Renfrewshire 8 1.74x
Argyllshire 7 4.25x
Derbyshire 6 0.65x
Lanarkshire 5 0.26x
Montgomeryshire 5 3.69x
Nottinghamshire 4 0.50x
Somerset 4 0.42x
Cornwall 3 0.45x
Devon 3 0.24x
Fife 3 0.86x
Oxfordshire 3 0.82x
Denbighshire 2 0.89x
Durham 2 0.11x
Gloucestershire 2 0.17x
Kent 2 0.10x
Royal Navy 2 2.83x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.42x
Flintshire 1 0.63x
Hertfordshire 1 0.25x
Perthshire 1 0.38x
Radnorshire 1 2.09x
Sussex 1 0.10x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Steeple Claydon in Buckinghamshire leads with 71 Beckets recorded in 1881 and an index of 4104.05x.

Place Total Index
Steeple Claydon 71 4104.05x
Isleham 16 465.12x
St Pancras London 16 3.36x
Lowestoft 15 44.03x
Lambeth 12 2.32x
Largs 11 105.36x
Old Kilpatrick 11 58.51x
Batley 9 16.14x
Heaton Norris 9 22.51x
Hillingdon 9 47.67x
Southampton St Mary 9 11.79x
Bradford 8 5.63x
Dewsbury 8 13.29x
Shawbury 8 408.16x
Walton On Hill 8 21.02x
Wolverhampton 8 5.21x
Blackburn 7 3.74x
Ferry Fryston 7 305.68x
Kilchoman 7 135.40x
Liverpool 7 1.64x
Mirfield 7 21.73x
Wolstanton Ranscliffe 7 1000.00x
East Ham 6 27.66x
Islington London 6 1.05x
Mitcham 6 32.89x
Over Darwen 6 10.69x
Skelmersdale 6 51.24x
Chieveley 5 211.86x
Chigwell 5 45.33x
Childrey 5 476.19x
Dreghorn 5 62.34x
Dunholme 5 609.76x
Fareham 5 34.29x
Guilsfield 5 101.42x
Ipswich St Mary Stoke 5 74.74x
Kingston On Thames 5 7.22x
Kirby Cane 5 588.24x
Litchurch 5 13.40x
Monks Coppenhall 5 10.14x
Newington 5 2.29x
Portsea 5 2.10x
Stoke Upon Tern 5 264.55x
Tipton 5 8.17x
Abbey 4 5.71x
Birmingham 4 0.80x
Haslingden 4 13.75x
Kensington London 4 1.22x
Little Bolton 4 4.43x
Loddon 4 170.94x
Maryhill 4 10.67x
Paisley Middle Church 4 14.97x
Shoreditch London 4 1.56x
Southworth With Croft 4 190.48x
St George Hanover Square 4 3.83x
St Marylebone London 4 1.27x
Walcot 4 7.88x
Wenhaston 4 224.72x
Wombwell 4 23.38x
Audlem 3 97.40x
Bursledon 3 227.27x
Cookham 3 21.65x
Gainsborough 3 13.44x
Gorton 3 4.54x
Hambledon 3 73.35x
Hill Top 3 1500.00x
Holy Trinity Less London 3 200.00x
Manchester 3 0.95x
Moston 3 42.55x
Stevenston 3 25.97x
Stratford On Avon 3 36.23x
Warmsworth 3 352.94x
Bersham 2 20.96x
Bethnal Green London 2 0.78x
Lower Booths 2 15.89x
Maker 2 32.31x
Norwich St Julian 2 52.22x
Royal Navy 2 3.32x
St Giles In Fields London 2 6.88x
Stoke Damerel 2 2.32x
Walsall Foreign 2 1.94x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Becket surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 32
Sarah 31
Elizabeth 24
Ann 16
Eliza 10
Jane 10
Emma 9
Harriet 8
Martha 8
Emily 7
Hannah 7
Alice 6
Annie 5
Ellen 5
Florence 5
Frances 5
Catherine 4
Edith 4
Susan 4
Amy 3
Clara 3
Esther 3
Henrietta 3
Julia 3
Louisa 3
Ada 2
Arabella 2
Fanny 2
Harriett 2
Jessie 2
Kate 2
Margaret 2
Maria 2
Rebecca 2
Rhoda 2
Rose 2
S. 2
Susannah 2
Anna 1
Bessie 1
Betsy 1
Blanch 1
Bridget 1
Elizth. 1
Emila 1
Ethel 1
Janet 1
Josephine 1
Judith 1
Zilpha 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Becket surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

FAQ

Becket surname: questions and answers

How common was the Becket surname in 1881?

In 1881, 605 people were recorded with the Becket surname. That placed it at #5,796 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Becket surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 138 in 2016. That gives Becket a modern rank of #25,127.

What does the Becket surname mean?

A surname possibly derived from the French words "bec" (beak) or "becquer" (to peck), referring to someone with a prominent nose or beak-like facial feature.

What does the Becket map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Becket bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.