Bain
A masculine name derived from an Old French phrase meaning "one in good health".
Name Census estimates that about 301 living Americans carry the first name Bain. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bain today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bain births was 2013 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bain. 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.
People living today
301
~ 1 in 1,138,719 Americans
Peak year
2013
25 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,991
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Bain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bain from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 145 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bain 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 Bain 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 Bain
The name Bain has its origins in the Gaelic language, which was spoken by the Celtic people of Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. It is believed to have derived from the old Gaelic word "bán," which means "white" or "fair-skinned."
In medieval times, the name Bain was commonly used as a descriptive surname or byname in Scotland and Ireland, referring to someone with a fair complexion or light-colored hair. Over time, it became adopted as a given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bain can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention a person named "Bán Ua Fallomuin" in the year 1021, which could be an early example of the name's usage.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Bain. One of the earliest was Bain Bor, a Scottish poet and historian who lived in the 15th century. He was known for his work "The Book of Deer," which documented the history of the Picts, an ancient Celtic tribe in northeastern Scotland.
In the 18th century, there was Bain Whyt, a Scottish minister and author who wrote extensively on religious and philosophical topics. His most famous work, "The Contemplation of Nature," was published in 1746.
Another significant figure was Bain de Sainte-Catherinne, a French-Canadian military officer and explorer who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was involved in the exploration of the Great Lakes region and played a role in the establishment of several settlements in what is now the state of Michigan.
In more recent times, there was Bain Tswediyo, a prominent South African writer and activist who was born in 1901. He was a key figure in the struggle against apartheid and was involved in the African National Congress, a major political party in South Africa.
Lastly, one cannot forget Bain Marek, a Polish-American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence. He was born in 1926 and was known for his work on neural networks and pattern recognition algorithms.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Bain, showcasing its rich cultural heritage and diverse geographical spread.
People
Bain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bain 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
Bain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 301 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bain 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 1,138,719 US residents.
Is Bain a common name?
We classify Bain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 325 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bain most popular?
The single biggest year for Bain was 2013, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bain is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bain a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bain 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.
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.