Beryl is a given name with reference to the mineral beryl. Although more commonly a feminine given name, it has been used in the past as a masculine name, predominantly in the United States. Use as a male name likely comes from a variant spelling of the surname Burrell, whose seeming root is the Old French , a reddish-brown woolen fabric with the resultant name denoting a worker in the wool trade. Beryl may also be a variant spelling of the Yiddish male name Berel.
Like most jewel names, Beryl's use as a feminine name dates from the late 19th-century: dancer Beryl de Zoete and actress Beryl Mercer would have been among the earliest namesakes being born respectively in 1879 and 1882. The female name Beryl was always more popular in the British Isles than in North America; since the mid-20th century the name has become somewhat unfashionable in the British Isles.
Females Females named Beryl include: Claire Adams (née Beryl Vere Nassau Adams), actress and benefactor Beryl Amedee, American politician Beryl T. (Sue) Atkins, British lexicographer Beryl Bainbridge, novelist Beryl Bartlett, South African tennis player Beryl Baxter (née M. Ivory), actress Beryl Beaurepaire, feminist Beryl Bernay, journalist, painter, and photographer Beryl Bender Birch, yoga teacher Beryl Booker, pianist Beryl Brewin (1910–1999), New Zealand marine zoologist Beryl Paston Brown, academic and teacher Beryl Annear Bryant, actress and theatrical producer Beryl Bryden, jazz singer Beryl Burton, racing cyclist Beryl Cook, artist best known for her paintings Beryl Cooke, actress Beryl Corner, doctor Beryl Crockford (formerly Mitchell; née Martin), rower Beryl Mildred Cryer, writer Beryl Cunningham, actress and model Beryl Davis, jazz singer Beryl Dean, British religious embroiderer Beryl May Dent (1900–1977), English mathematical physicist Beryl de Zoete, ballet dancer Beryl Donkin, legal secretary Beryl Esembe, sociologist and anthropologist Beryl Evans (née Williams), politician Beryl Ferguson, South African politician Beryl Fletcher, feminist author Beryl Fox, documentary film director and producer Beryl Gaffney, politician Béryl Gastaldello, swimmer Beryl Gilroy (née Answick), novelist and teacher Beryl Goldwyn Karney, ballet dancer Beryl Grant, nurse, community worker, and public servant Beryl Grey, ballet dancer Beryl "Beb" Hearnden, farmer, journalist, and author Beryl A. Howell, judge Beryl Hutchinson, British volunteer ambulance driver and officer of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Beryl Ingham, dancer and actress Beryl Elaine Jacka, administrator Beryl Jones (née Davies), politician Beryl Korot, video artist Béryl Laramé, athlete Beryl J. Levine, female justice Beryl Levinger, academic and teacher Beryl Markham (née Clutterbuck), horse trainer and aviator Beryl Marsden, singer Beryl Marshall, swimmer Beryl McBurnie, dancer Beryl McLeish (née King), civil servant and wartime superintendent Beryl Measor, actress Beryl Mercer, actress Beryl Mills, advertising agent, librarian, and beauty queen Beryl Nashar, geologist, academic, and teacher Beryl Noakes, swimmer Beryl Oliver, British charity administrator Beryl Penrose, tennis player Beryl H. Potter, American astronomical researcher Beryl Potter, Canadian disability activist Beryl Preston, British sailor Beryl Radin, scholar, scientist, editor, and teacher Beryl Randle, race walker and an athletics administrator Beryl Rawson (née Marie Wilkinson), writer, and teacher Beryl Reid, actress Beryl Roberts, American politician from Florida Beryl Rowland, historian and teacher Beryl Satter, historian and teacher Beryl Shereshewsky, American YouTuber Beryl Smalley, historian Beryl Smeeton, traveller Beryl Splatt, biochemist Beryl Swain (née J Tolman), road racer Beryl Te Wiata (née McMillan), actor, author, and scriptwriter Beryl Tsang, fibre artist Beryl Vertue, television producer Beryl Wallace (born Beatrice Heischuber), singer, dancer, and actress Beryl Wamira, athlete Beryl Williams, politician and school teacher
Males Males named Beryl include: Berle Adams (born Beryl Adasky), music industry executive and talent booking agent Beryl Anthony, American politician and father of Beryl Anthony Jr. Beryl Anthony Jr., politician Beryl F. Carroll, politician Beryl Clark, football player Beryl Drummond, basketball player Beryl Follet, football player Beryl Newman, Medal of Honor recipient Beryl Richmond, baseball player Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky), boxer Beryl Rubinstein, composer Beryl Shipley, basketball coach Beryl Sprinkel, member of the Executive Office of the U.S. President Hallam Tennyson (radio producer) (1920–2005), English radio producer
Pseudonym Stephen King (as Beryl Evans)
Fictional characters Beryl, in EastEnders Queen Beryl, a villainess in the anime Sailor Moon Beryl the Peril, British cartoon character, in The Topper and others Beryl Chugspoke, in Emmerdale Beryl Crossthwaite, in Emmerdale Beryl Patmore, the cook on the ITV series Downton Abbey