How Many People Are Named Bernie?
An estimated 5,586 people in the United States have the first name Bernie. It is used for both genders, with 85.7% male. The average bearer is 62 years old, and Bernie peaked in popularity in 1960 with 266 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Bernie 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 Bernie paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
5,586
About 1 in 61,360 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
85.7% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1960
266 births
Total Registered
10,752
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Bernie
Bernie is predominantly male (85.7%), though 1,535 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Bernie as a male name
Ranked #5,453 in 2024
17 male births in 2024
Peak: 1960 (231 births)
Bernie as a female name
Ranked #6,548 in 1975
8 female births in 1975
Peak: 1957 (51 births)
Bernie: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Bernie span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 1,810 babies were registered. Bernie has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Bernie by Decade
How has Bernie 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.
Bernie by State
Birth registrations for Bernie span all 36 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in North Dakota, Connecticut, Oregon. On average, about 127 Bernies were registered per state.
Bernie + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Bernie
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Bernie: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernie?
We estimate approximately 5,586 people named Bernie 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 61,360 Americans share this first name.
Is Bernie a common name?
Bernie is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 10,752 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Bernie most popular?
Bernie reached peak popularity in 1960, when 266 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Bernie is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Bernie a male name?
Bernie is predominantly male. 85.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Bernie Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Bernie Smith, Bernie Johnson, Bernie 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.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me