Beckham

How to say it

/ˈbɛk.əm/

What it means

English place name from Old English beac ('stream') + ham ('homestead'). Originally a surname tied to villages in Norfolk. David Beckham the English footballer is the dominant modern anchor; baby names with this shape rose globally after his fame in the 2000s.

Beckham is an English place name from the Old English beac ('stream') + hām ('homestead'), giving 'homestead by the stream.' Originally a surname tied to villages in Norfolk (Beckham and East Beckham). David Beckham the English footballer (born 1975, Manchester United and Real Madrid, married to Victoria 'Posh Spice' Beckham) is overwhelmingly the dominant cultural anchor. As a first name Beckham is American and modern, basically zero before 2007 and climbing fast since. It entered the US top 500 in 2017. Common short: Beck or Beckam.

Heads-up notes

• Pop culture

  David Beckham is the dominant anchor; almost all first-name use is downstream of his fame, with celebrity-baby naming after 2007 driving the curve.

Who's worn it

Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.

• David Beckham English footballer, Manchester United and Real Madrid, born 1975

Spelling variants

• Beckam
• Beckhem

Names with the same feeling

• Beckett Bee cottage, or 'small stream'
• Hudson Son of Hudd
• Weston Western town
• Barrett Bear-strength, or 'quarrel'
• Knox Round hill

See Beckham from another angle