The surname has English and Norman origins. The northern Middle English term bekke means ‘stream.’ It’s general meaning is someone who lived beside a stream. Also in England it was a nickname for someone with a prominent nose, from the Middle English beke which was ‘beak.’ In 7th century England, ‘Beck’ also was a maker, seller or user of a matlock.
In Germany, a ’beck’ was a baker.

The Beck families were mostly farmers in the 1880s.

In the United States, Beck families live mostly in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In England, most people live in the counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire and the London area.

Famous: Jeff Beck (English guitarist), Lewis H. Beck (successful businessman in Atlanta, who donated money to Emory University Library), Andreas Beck ( German tennis player), Kimberly Beck (film and TV actress), Rollo Beck (bird collector), Robert N. Beck (pioneer radiologist), Hans Beck (German inventor), Julian Beck (theater play producer) and Holly Beck (world-class female surfer).