Baer
A variant of the masculine name Bear, derived from the German word for bear.
Name Census estimates that about 239 living Americans carry the first name Baer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Baer today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Baer births was 2022 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Baer. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Baer with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
239
~ 1 in 1,434,119 Americans
Peak year
2022
26 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,486
Tracked since 2007
Census
Baer in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Baer, which placed it at #41,393 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baer
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Baer is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Baer described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Baer at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.5% · 146
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 13
- Two or more races5.1% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 3
- Black or African American1.1% · 2
Popularity
Baer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Baer from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 131 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Baer remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Baer by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Baer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Baer
The given name Baer is derived from the German word 'Bär', which translates to 'bear' in English. Its origins can be traced back to the Germanic languages of antiquity, where the word was likely used to describe someone with bear-like qualities or characteristics.
The name Baer has been present in various Germanic cultures and regions for centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Middle Ages, where it was used as a surname or a descriptive nickname.
In terms of historical references, the name Baer does not appear to have any direct connections to ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, the bear itself has been a symbolic figure in various cultures and mythologies throughout history, often representing strength, courage, and a connection to nature.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Baer was Baer Bogatzky (1690-1774), a German pietist and hymnwriter. His works, such as "Golden Treasury for the Children of God," had a significant impact on Protestant devotional literature.
Another well-known figure named Baer was Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876), a German biologist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the fields of embryology and geography. He is best known for his research on embryonic development and for being one of the founders of modern embryology.
In the realm of literature, Baer Shenker (1901-1991) was a notable Yiddish writer and poet from Poland. His works often explored themes of Jewish culture, identity, and the human condition.
Moving into the 20th century, we have Baer Navok (1918-1980), an Israeli artist and sculptor known for his abstract and modernist works, many of which can be found in public spaces and museums throughout Israel.
Finally, Baer Pundik (1926-2018) was a renowned Israeli writer and playwright who wrote extensively about life in Tel Aviv and the experiences of the Jewish diaspora in Israel.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Baer throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and cultures.
People
Baer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Baer as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Baer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Baer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 239 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Baer going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,434,119 US residents.
Is Baer a common name?
We classify Baer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 241 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Baer most popular?
The single biggest year for Baer was 2022, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Baer is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Baer in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Baer, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Baer in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Baer?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Baer leans strongly male. 183 people counted with this name were male (96.3%), compared with 7 female bearers (3.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Baer?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Baer is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Baer most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Baer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.5% (146 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Baer in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Baer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Baer in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Baer still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Baer in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Baer can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Baer as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.