Berdell
A masculine name with uncertain origins, possibly related to the French word beau ("beautiful").
Name Census estimates that about 22 living Americans carry the first name Berdell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 61.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Berdell today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berdell births was 1927 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berdell. 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
- • The typical person named Berdell is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Berdells were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Berdell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
22
~ 1 in 15,579,743 Americans
Peak year
1927
21 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1956 SSA rank
#3,992
Tracked since 1915
Census
Berdell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 161 people with the first name Berdell, which placed it at #43,643 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
#43,643
National first-name rank
People counted
161
161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
49.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berdell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berdell is Black at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Berdell 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 Berdell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.7% · 80
- White42.2% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
- Two or more races1.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Berdell
Berdell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 241 total registrations, 92 (38.2%) were male and 149 (61.8%) were female.
Berdell as a male name
- Ranked #3,992 in 1956
- 5 male births in 1956
- Peak: 1937 (9 births)
Berdell as a female name
- Ranked #5,300 in 1949
- 5 female births in 1949
- Peak: 1927 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Berdell on both sides of the split. Of the 153 people counted with this name, 71 were male (46.4%) and 82 were female (53.6%).
Popularity
Berdell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Berdell from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 137 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
Berdell 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 Berdell 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 Berdell
The name Berdell is an English surname that has been used as a masculine given name. It is believed to have originated from the Old English word "bere," meaning bear, and "dell," meaning valley or meadow. This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived in a bear-infested valley or meadow.
The earliest recorded use of the name Berdell dates back to the 16th century in England. One of the first notable individuals to bear this name was Berdell Wilkinson, an English merchant and explorer who lived in the late 16th century. He is known for his travels to the Americas and his accounts of the indigenous peoples he encountered.
In the 17th century, Berdell Smythe was a prominent English clergyman and writer. He authored several religious texts and served as a vicar in various parishes throughout his life (1612-1678).
During the 18th century, Berdell Haynes (1711-1797) was a British soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He fought alongside the British forces and was later captured by the Continental Army.
In the 19th century, Berdell Cuthbert (1832-1901) was a British painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and portraits. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academy and other prestigious galleries in London.
Another notable figure with the name Berdell was Berdell Cunningham (1885-1964), an American businessman and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil industry and later established the Cunningham Foundation, which supported various educational and charitable causes.
While the name Berdell has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting its versatility as a given name.
People
Berdell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berdell 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
Berdell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berdell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 22 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berdell 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 15,579,743 US residents.
Is Berdell a common name?
We classify Berdell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 41.6% 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 Berdell most popular?
The single biggest year for Berdell was 1927, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berdell is about 88 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Berdell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 161 people with the name Berdell, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,643 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 Berdell 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 Berdell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Berdell on both sides of the split. Of the 153 people counted with this name, 71 were male (46.4%) and 82 were female (53.6%). 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 Berdell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berdell is Black at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (42.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.1%). 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 Berdell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Berdell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (80 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 Berdell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Berdell a female name?
Yes, 61.8% of people registered as Berdell 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.
Is Berdell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Berdell 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 Berdell 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 Berdell as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.