English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of the five places in Normandy or several others elsewhere in France so named. The place name comes from Old French beu, bel ‘fair’, ‘lovely’ + mont ‘hill’. There are also places in England so named under Norman influence (in Cumberland, Lancashire, and Essex, the last of which changed its name in the 12th century from Fulepet ‘foul pit’ to Bealmont ‘beautiful hill’); these may also have given rise to cases of the surname. The surname is now widespread throughout England, but most common in Yorkshire.
FOREBEARS Many American bearers of this surname are descendants of John Beaumont (1612–1647), who came to North America from England in 1630William Beaumont came from England to Cambridge, MA, in 1635 and subsequently moved to CT.A Beaumont from the Anjou region of France, with the secondary surnames Piquefeu and Boutefeu, is recorded as having arrived in Quebec city in 1665; another, from the Poitou region is recorded in 1674 in Quebec city.
