Beatrice
A feminine name derived from Latin meaning "she who brings happiness".
Name Census estimates that about 42,527 living Americans carry the first name Beatrice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Beatrice today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beatrice births was 1921 (5,994 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beatrice. 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
- • Although Beatrice is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 733 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
43K
~ 1 in 8,060 Americans
Peak year
1921
5,994 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1989 SSA rank
#579
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Beatrice
Out of the 195,064 babies given the name Beatrice since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Beatrice as a male name
- Ranked #5,683 in 1989
- 8 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1929 (28 births)
Beatrice as a female name
- Ranked #579 in 2024
- 518 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (5,968 births)
Popularity
Beatrice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beatrice from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 49,453 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beatrice 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 Beatrice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Beatrices live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. New York, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Beatrice, while Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,235 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Beatrice
The name Beatrice has its origins in the Latin language, derived from the root words "beatus" meaning "blessed" and "viatrix" meaning "voyager" or "traveler." It is believed to have emerged during the Late Antiquity period, between the 3rd and 6th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Beatrice can be found in the medieval Italian epic poem "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, written in the early 14th century. In this work, Beatrice is portrayed as a guide and symbol of divine love, leading the poet through Paradise.
The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in Italy and other parts of Europe. It was often associated with nobility and was borne by several prominent historical figures, such as Beatrice of Burgundy (1145-1184), the wife of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Another notable Beatrice was Beatrice of Castile (1242-1303), who served as the Queen of Portugal and is remembered for her diplomatic efforts in resolving conflicts between Portugal and Castile.
In England, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Chronicles of Matthew Paris, which mentions a woman named Beatrice de Humet in the 13th century.
The name Beatrice also has connections to religious figures. Saint Beatrice (292-303), a Roman martyr, is venerated in the Catholic Church, and her feast day is celebrated on July 29th.
Over the centuries, the name Beatrice has been borne by various notable individuals, including Beatrice Potter Webb (1858-1943), a British sociologist and economist; Beatrice Wood (1893-1998), an American artist and studio potter; and Beatrice Shilling (1909-1990), a British aeronautical engineer and amateur pilot.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Beatrice
People
Beatrice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beatrice 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
Beatrice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beatrice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 42,527 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beatrice 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 8,060 US residents.
Is Beatrice a common name?
We classify Beatrice as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 195,064 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beatrice most popular?
The single biggest year for Beatrice was 1921, when 5,994 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beatrice is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Beatrice a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Beatrice in the SSA data are female. 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.