Beryl

Beryl is a given name with reference to the mineral beryl. Although more commonly used for females, it is deemed unisex due to occasional American usage as a male name. 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 (Judeo-German) male name Berel. Like most jewel names, Beryl's use as a female 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 Berle Adams (born Beryl Adasky), music industry executive and talent booking agent Beryl Amedee, American politician Beryl T. (Sue) Atkins, British lexicographer Beryl Bainbridge, novelist 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 W. Chan, wife of Gerald Chan Beryl G.S. Chung, Cannes Lion award winning designer Beryl Christie, mother of Donald J.