Beau

Beau: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “handsome”
Origin: French
Say it: BOH · 1 syllable
Used for: Boys (98% of all uses)

From French beau 'handsome, beautiful'. It has long been used in English as a given name as well as a nickname or term of address.

French names English names Names meaning beauty Classic names Short names International names

How popular is Beau?

20241,430 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Beau in 20244,759

2024 rank#69 boys

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188061,360

Beau is rising: use over the last five years is 3.8× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Beau

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Oliverolive tree · French
Calvinbald · French
Louisfamous warrior · French
Granttall; large · French
Saintholy person; saint · French
Russelllittle red-haired one · French
Travisto cross · French
Marshallhorse servant · French

Beau questions

What does the name Beau mean?

Beau means "handsome". It comes from French. From French beau 'handsome, beautiful'. It has long been used in English as a given name as well as a nickname or term of address.

Is Beau a boy or girl name?

Beau is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Beau?

4,759 US babies were named Beau in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Beau?

Beau is usually pronounced BOH.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.