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Bean Family History

Bean Name Meaning

English: nickname for a pleasant person from Middle English bēne ‘friendly amiable’. English: metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of beans from Middle English bene ‘bean’ (Old English bēan ‘beans’ a collective singular). The broad bean Vicia faba was a staple food in Europe in the Middle Ages. The green bean Phaseolus vulgaris came from South America and was not introduced to Europe until the late 16th century. The word bene was commonly used to denote something of little worth and occasionally it may have been applied as a nickname for someone considered insignificant. English: possibly a habitational or topographic name. Redmonds Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames cites Adam del Bene of Harrogate (1351) as evidence to suggest that in the Harrogate area where the Yorkshire name later proliferated it may have been derived from a place where beans grew. English: perhaps a variant of Benn . Compare Benney . Scottish and Irish: shortened Anglicized form of the patronymic Mac B(h)eathain ‘son of Beathán’ from the Gaelic personal name Beathán a diminutive of beatha ‘life’ see McBain . In Ireland Bean is also found also a shortened form of Ó Beachain see Behan . Americanized form (translation into English) of German Bohne or an altered form of Biehn . See also Bihn .7: Americanized form (mistranslation into English) of French Lefebvre . As the vocabulary word fèvre ‘smith’ was replaced by forgeron in modern French the meaning of the old word for a smith became opaque and the surname was reinterpreted as if it were La fève from fève ‘bean’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Beal, Dean, Bear, Ban, Lean, Behan, Benn, Beam, Hearn, Been

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Where is the Bean family from?

You can see how Bean families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bean family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bean families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 1,250 Bean families living in Yorkshire. This was about 30% of all the recorded Bean's in United Kingdom. Yorkshire had the highest population of Bean families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bean surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Bean ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Bean. 9% of Bean men worked as a General Labourer and 70% of Bean women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Bean were Farm Labourer and Incapacitated. .

View Census Data for Bean | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    9%
  • Bricklayer
    3%
  • Farmer
    3%
  • Farm Labourer
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    70%
  • Housewife
    3%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    2%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Bean family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 276,000 census records available for the last name Bean. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bean census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 20,000 immigration records available for the last name Bean. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 44,000 military records available for the last name Bean. For the veterans among your Bean ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Bean lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Bean life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1951, and highest in 1952. The average life expectancy for Bean in 1944 was 45, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bean

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