- Means near a small stream or river
- Commonly used as a last name
- Famous for playwright Samuel Beckett, and his fictional namesake, Dr Sam Beckett on the TV series Quantum Leap
- Often shortened to Beck
The text below is excerpted with permission from the book The Encyclopedia of American Last Names: Family Genealogy and Meanings for 1000 Surnames of Early European Settlers to the United States.
History of the name Beckett
Beck, in the Anglo-Saxon language, meant a small stream or rivulet, from the Norse beckr or Danish boec.
Head (meaning the upper end) frequently becomes ett. Becket, therefore, is atte beck-head, from a residence at the commencement of the beck.
Thomas who lived near such a stream was popularly known as “Thomas at the becket,” and thus may be accounted for the surnames Beck and Beckett.
