How Many People Are Named Bernard?
An estimated 79,598 people in the United States have the first name Bernard. It is predominantly male (99.5%). The average bearer is 64 years old, and Bernard peaked in popularity in 1924 with 4,524 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Bernard as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Bernard paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Bernard is overwhelmingly male, 983 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Bernard has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
79,598
About 1 in 4,306 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.5% confidence
Average Age
64
years old
Peak Year
1924
4,524 births
Total Registered
200,931
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Bernard
Bernard is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 200,931 total births registered, 99.5% were male.
Bernard as a male name
Ranked #1,318 in 2024
147 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (4,505 births)
Bernard as a female name
Ranked #9,659 in 1993
8 female births in 1993
Peak: 1927 (34 births)
Bernard: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Bernard span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 42,663 babies were registered. Bernard has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Bernard by Decade
How has Bernard tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,616 | 1,616 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 2,320 | 2,315 | 5 | |
| 1900s | 3,301 | 3,296 | 5 | |
| 1910s | 25,748 | 25,628 | 120 | |
| 1920s | 42,663 | 42,410 | 253 | |
| 1930s | 30,684 | 30,544 | 140 | |
| 1940s | 26,531 | 26,446 | 85 | |
| 1950s | 25,994 | 25,889 | 105 | |
| 1960s | 17,596 | 17,473 | 123 | |
| 1970s | 9,183 | 9,100 | 83 | |
| 1980s | 6,563 | 6,507 | 56 | |
| 1990s | 4,168 | 4,160 | 8 | |
| 2000s | 2,252 | 2,252 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,606 | 1,606 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 706 | 706 | 0 | |
Bernard by State
Birth registrations for Bernard span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 3,716 Bernards were registered per state.
Bernard + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernard as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Bernard
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Bernard: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernard?
We estimate approximately 79,598 people named Bernard are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 4,306 Americans share this first name.
Is Bernard a common name?
Bernard is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 200,931 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Bernard most popular?
Bernard reached peak popularity in 1924, when 4,524 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Bernard is approximately 64 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Bernard a male name?
Bernard is predominantly male. 99.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Bernard Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Bernard Smith, Bernard Johnson, Bernard Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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