Bergen
From the Old Norse language, meaning "hill" or "mountain".
Name Census estimates that about 898 living Americans carry the first name Bergen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Bergen today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bergen births was 2001 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bergen. 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
898
~ 1 in 381,686 Americans
Peak year
2001
48 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2022 SSA rank
#5,451
Tracked since 1928
Census
Bergen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 941 people with the first name Bergen, which placed it at #12,999 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
#12,999
National first-name rank
People counted
941
941 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bergen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bergen is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Bergen 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 Bergen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 843
- Two or more races3.8% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 12
- Black or African American1.0% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Bergen
Bergen is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 917 total registrations, 395 (43.1%) were male and 522 (56.9%) were female.
Bergen as a male name
- Ranked #8,399 in 2022
- 9 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2003 (27 births)
Bergen as a female name
- Ranked #5,451 in 2024
- 23 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bergen on both sides of the split. Of the 935 people counted with this name, 411 were male (44.0%) and 524 were female (56.0%).
Popularity
Bergen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bergen from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 397 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bergen 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 Bergen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bergens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Minnesota, Nebraska, California recorded the most babies named Bergen, while Washington, Colorado, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bergen
The name Bergen is a Scandinavian name, with its origins rooted in the Old Norse language. It likely derived from the Old Norse word "bjarg," meaning "hill" or "cliff." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to people who lived in mountainous or hilly regions.
Bergen was a popular name among the Vikings and other Norse peoples during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have been used as early as the 9th century AD, as evidenced by its presence in ancient Norse sagas and historical accounts of that period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Bergen Arnesson, a Norwegian chieftain and landowner who lived in the late 10th century. He was a prominent figure in the region of Vestfold and is mentioned in several Norse sagas.
During the High Middle Ages, the name Bergen gained popularity across Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe. Notable individuals with this name include Bergen Hvitserk (1020-1090), a Danish warrior and explorer who is said to have accompanied Leif Erikson on his voyage to Vinland (modern-day Newfoundland, Canada).
In the 13th century, Bergen Erlandsson (1215-1285) was a Swedish statesman and advisor to King Valdemar Birgersson. He played a crucial role in the consolidation of Swedish power during that period.
Moving into the Renaissance era, Bergen Tordsson (1487-1541) was a Norwegian military commander and naval officer who fought in several conflicts against Denmark and Sweden. He is remembered for his bravery and strategic skills in defending Norwegian coastal regions.
Another significant figure was Bergen Jönsson (1568-1633), a Swedish merchant and explorer who established trade routes between Sweden and the New World. He is credited with founding the first Swedish settlement in North America, which was located in present-day Delaware.
Throughout history, the name Bergen has maintained a strong presence in Scandinavian countries and has been borne by many notable individuals, including writers, artists, and intellectuals. Its enduring popularity reflects its deep roots in the cultural heritage of the region.
People
Bergen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bergen 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
Bergen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bergen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 898 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bergen 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 381,686 US residents.
Is Bergen a common name?
We classify Bergen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 917 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bergen most popular?
The single biggest year for Bergen was 2001, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bergen is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bergen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 941 people with the name Bergen, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,999 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 Bergen 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 Bergen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Bergen on both sides of the split. Of the 935 people counted with this name, 411 were male (44.0%) and 524 were female (56.0%). 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 Bergen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bergen is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Bergen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bergen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (843 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 Bergen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bergen a female name?
Yes, 56.9% of people registered as Bergen 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 Bergen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bergen 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 Bergen 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 share the name Bergen?
Find out how many Americans are named Bergen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.