Beverly

The name Beverly doesn't mean "beaver". It is a place name that means "a person who comes from the beaver meadow". There were many place names to identify people in the 1200s when the name BEVER-LEIGH was first recorded. Lea means meadow. It does not mean "beaver" nor does it mean beaver stream as the official meaning here states. Beaver stream is wrong. Beavers are a highly intelligent organized animal. Their fur was much prized by hunters. The use of this name in the 1200s BEVER-LEIGH WAS FOR A MALE WHO EITHER hunted for beaver pelts or lived in a region like Beverley England which was a beaver meadow. It was used for males until around 1905 in the US. Still used for males in other countries. Sorry to dispute the owner of this site but I did my research well. It means person from a beaver meadow...does not mean beaver or beaver stream. I know because I'm a Beverly.

My name is Beverly and so I naturally have looked it up many times. I am disappointed to see the meaning changed from "dweller at the beaver meadow" to "beaver stream." Look up the word, Beverly, in any dictionary and it will say "dweller at the beaver meadow." Why is this important? A beaver meadow is the most fertile soil! The name Beverly means prosperity; dweller at the most fertile soil! Why do you suppose they named the most famous rich neighborhood in America, Beverly Hills? Beaver meadows were hunted during the land rush of the 1800's because they meant prosperity to the land owner!

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"When the flow of water in a stream is slowed by the beaver dam, soil and organic sediment carried in the water usually settle to the bottom of the beaver pond. When beaver subsequently abandon a locality, their dam eventually breaks and the pond drains leaving a large open space. A meadow usually grows on the nutrient-rich soils that once formed the bottom of the pond. These "beaver meadows" usually have more light penetration, higher soil moisture, more nitrogen and a different vegetation than the adjacent riparian forest." (Johnston et al. 1995; Wright et al. 2002).

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Johnston CA, Naiman RJ (1990) Browse selection by beaver: effects on riparian forest composition. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 20: 1036-1043

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Johnston CA, Pinay G, Arens C, Naiman RJ (1995) Influence of soil properties on the biogeochemistry of a beaver meadow hydrosequence. Soil Science Society of America Bulletin 59: 1789-1799

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Wright JP, Jones CG, Flecker AS (2002) An ecosystem engineer, the beaver, increases species richness at the landscape scale. Oecologia 132: 96-101.

I have read that for a male named Beverly/Beverley the definition means AMBITIOUS... however, for a female, it means beaver meadow. HMMM
Methinks perhaps a bit of prejudicial thinking going on here a while back and someone writing a baby name book just made up the one.

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After all, look at the name. Bever obviously comes from Beaver and the word Lea is still used for meadow, especially in the UK.

I love to research names. In my library there is a book about two feet thick that traces the history of names. Apparently first used for a surname between the 1200-1600s, it was spelled Beaver or Bever then a dash, then Leigh. Since LEA means meadow... Beaver meadow. It was also used commonly as a male given name... ever heard of George Beverley Shea? A great pianist.

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On the female usage, it popped up in the 1890s and peaked around the 1930s. Btw, the comedienne May West had a sister named Beverly. Or is that spelled MAE West? Yep...

In Old English, lea (ley, ly) means meadow. Bever is the corruption of beaver. Thus, Beverly means 'Beaver meadow', not 'beaver stream'.

Since the name is an English one, I checked with Wikipedia and found that there is a town of 33,000 on the east coast of England (in Yorkshire) facing the North Sea named Beverley. Indeed, there is a beaver on the coat of arms of the city. Beaver has always been a highly sought after fur and because Beverley was a port city, I would guess that this was one of the main places that beaver pelts were traded.
I was hoping to find that I was named after a noble family or beautiful woman, but no such luck, yet. The town was a "market town" and known for enforcing honest weights - and the fines for not using accurate weights made the city very prosperous.
My father was stationed in England before the Battle of the Buldge (Bloody Bucket Brigade) and probably became familiar with the name at that time. Besides being my father, Dad was a war hero and earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in WWII. I'm proud that he gave me a name that meant something to him.