Berj
A masculine Armenian name meaning "elevated", "high", or "lofty".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Berj. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Berj today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berj births was 1983 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berj. 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 Berj. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1983
5 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1983 SSA rank
#6,338
Tracked since 1983
Census
Berj in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 190 people with the first name Berj, which placed it at #39,614 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
#39,614
National first-name rank
People counted
190
190 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berj
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berj is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Berj 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 Berj at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 182
- Two or more races2.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Berj: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Berj 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 Berj during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Berj
The name Berj is of Armenian origin, derived from the Armenian word "berj," which means "high" or "tall." It is believed to have originated in the ancient Armenian kingdom, which existed from the 4th century BC to the 14th century AD.
The earliest recorded use of the name Berj can be traced back to the 5th century AD, when it appeared in Armenian historical records and manuscripts. It was particularly popular among the noble and aristocratic classes of ancient Armenia.
One of the earliest known figures with the name Berj was Berj Vahramian, an Armenian prince who lived in the 7th century AD. He was a prominent military leader and played a significant role in the defense of Armenia against Arab invasions during that period.
Another notable figure with the name Berj was Berj Artzruni, an Armenian nobleman and prince who lived in the 9th century AD. He was a influential figure in the Artzruni dynasty, which ruled over parts of Armenia during the medieval period.
In the 12th century, Berj Toros was a prominent Armenian architect and sculptor. He is best known for his work on the Haghbat Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in modern-day Armenia.
During the 19th century, Berj Arghutian was a renowned Armenian writer and poet. He was born in 1865 and is considered one of the pioneers of modern Armenian literature. His works often dealt with themes of nationalism and the Armenian struggle for independence.
Another famous bearer of the name Berj was Berj Karafian, an Armenian-American writer and activist who lived from 1916 to 2005. He was a prominent figure in the Armenian diaspora and worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide.
While the name Berj has its roots in ancient Armenia, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly among Armenian communities in the diaspora. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in Armenian culture and history.
People
Berj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berj 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
Berj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berj 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Berj a common name?
We classify Berj as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% 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 Berj most popular?
The single biggest year for Berj was 1983, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berj is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Berj in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 190 people with the name Berj, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,614 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 Berj 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 Berj?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Berj leans strongly male. 192 people counted with this name were male (97.0%), compared with 6 female bearers (3.0%). 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 Berj?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berj is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Berj most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Berj in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (182 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 Berj in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Berj a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Berj 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 Berj still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Berj 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 Berj 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 Berj?
Find out how many Americans are named Berj on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.