Beric
A Slavic name meaning "keeper" or "protector".
Name Census estimates that about 90 living Americans carry the first name Beric. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beric today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beric births was 2019 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beric. 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 Beric. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
90
~ 1 in 3,808,382 Americans
Peak year
2019
19 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,005
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Beric: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beric from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 56 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Beric remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beric 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 Beric 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 Beric
The name Beric has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the Proto-Germanic word "berhta," which means "bright" or "shining." It is believed to have been in use as early as the 5th century CE in areas of what is now England and parts of northwestern Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Beric can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in Anglo-Saxon England from the 9th to 12th centuries. The name is mentioned in reference to a Saxon warrior named Beric who fought against the invading Danish armies in the late 9th century.
In the Middle Ages, the name Beric was relatively uncommon, but it did appear in various historical documents and records. One notable individual was Beric of Dereham, a 12th-century English monk and chronicler who wrote about the lives of saints and local events in East Anglia.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some popularity, particularly in England and Scotland. One famous bearer of the name was Sir Beric Donaldson (1567-1625), a Scottish soldier and diplomat who served as an ambassador to various European courts.
In the 17th century, Beric Geddes (1612-1688) was a Scottish Catholic priest and historian who wrote about the history of the Church in Britain. His works were influential in shaping the understanding of early Christianity in the region.
Another notable figure was Beric Donaldson (1670-1737), an English merchant and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of education and healthcare in his hometown of Bristol.
As time progressed, the name Beric became less common, but it still appeared occasionally throughout history. In the 19th century, Beric Tremayne (1825-1891) was a British author and journalist who wrote extensively about travel and exploration, particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
More recently, in the 20th century, Beric Ashcroft (1910-1987) was a British actor and film producer known for his work in various Hollywood productions during the Golden Age of cinema.
People
Beric + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beric 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
Beric: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beric?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 90 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beric 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 3,808,382 US residents.
Is Beric a common name?
We classify Beric as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 91 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beric most popular?
The single biggest year for Beric was 2019, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beric is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Beric in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beric a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beric 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 Beric still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beric 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 Beric 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Beric?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Beric, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.