Be
An uncommon given name derived from the verb "to be".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Be. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Be today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Be births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Be. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Be. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#4,208
Tracked since 1919
Census
Be in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,432 people with the first name Be, which placed it at #6,562 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
#6,562
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
86.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Be
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Be is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) and Black (2.1%). 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 Be 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 Be at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander86.8% · 2,111
- White7.6% · 186
- Black or African American2.1% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 49
- Two or more races1.3% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Be: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Be 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 Be during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Be
The given name Be has its origins in the ancient Egyptian language, dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. It is believed to be derived from the Egyptian word "beh," which means "to manifest" or "to become." This name was commonly used in ancient Egypt, particularly among the ruling class and nobility.
In the Old Kingdom period of ancient Egypt (c. 2686–2181 BC), the name Be was often associated with the concept of creation and the manifestation of life. It was frequently given to children as a symbolic representation of their potential to grow and become influential individuals within their society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Be can be found in the Pyramid Texts, a collection of ancient Egyptian mortuary texts inscribed on the walls of pyramids. These texts date back to the 5th and 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom period (c. 2494–2181 BC).
Throughout the millennia, several notable individuals have borne the name Be. One of the most famous was Be-ni-Nesu, an Egyptian scribe and official who lived during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550–1292 BC). He served under the renowned pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten and is renowned for his exceptional calligraphy skills.
Another prominent figure was Be-neb-Djed, a high-ranking official and royal scribe who lived during the 26th Dynasty (c. 664–525 BC). He was known for his expertise in the field of architecture and played a significant role in the construction of several monumental buildings during his lifetime.
In the realm of ancient Greek literature, the name Be appears in the works of the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras (c. 570–495 BC). One of his students, a woman named Be, is mentioned in some of his writings as a skilled mathematician and astronomer.
During the Roman Imperial period, there was a famous charioteer named Be-nedicta, who lived around the 1st century AD. He was renowned for his exceptional skills in chariot racing and won numerous prestigious competitions in the ancient Roman circuses.
In the medieval period, the name Be was also used in the Persian and Arabic cultures. One notable figure was Be-Malikshah, a Persian princess and poet who lived during the 11th century AD. She was highly regarded for her literary talents and her poetry, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Be, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and the diverse societies in which it has been found.
People
Be + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Be 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
Be: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Be?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Be 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 - US residents.
Is Be a common name?
We classify Be as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Be most popular?
The single biggest year for Be was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Be is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Be in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,432 people with the name Be, or 0.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,562 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 Be 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 Be?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Be on both sides of the split. Of the 2,429 people counted with this name, 772 were male (31.8%) and 1,657 were female (68.2%). 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 Be?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Be is Asian/Pacific Islander at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) and Black (2.1%). 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 Be most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Be in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (2,111 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 Be in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Be a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Be 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 Be still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Be 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 Be 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 are named Be?
You can see how many Americans are named Be on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.