Beverly (name)

Beverly
Gender	Unisex
Language(s)	English
Origin
Language(s)	Old English
Word/name	Combination of befer and lēah
Meaning	"beaver" + "clearing"
Region of origin	England
Other names
Variant form(s)	Beverley
Short form(s)	Bev
Related names	Everly, Waverly, Kimberly

Beverly or Beverley is an English surname, which was in turn taken from the place name Beverley. The place name derives from Old English, combining befer ("beaver") and lēah ("clearing').^{[citation needed]}

It is also a given name. It is sometimes shortened to Bev. It was at one time a common masculine given name, but is now almost exclusively a feminine name due to the popularity of a 1904 novel, Beverly of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon.^[1] Its association with Beverly Hills, California, where many well known film actors live, might also have contributed to its usage in the United States.^[2]

^ Stewart, George R. (1979). American Given Names: Their Origin and History in the Context of the English Language. Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780195024654.
^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.

[1] Stewart, George R. (1979). American Given Names: Their Origin and History in the Context of the English Language. Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780195024654.

[2] Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.

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