Berl
Derived from the Yiddish word "perl" meaning pearl or jewel.
Name Census estimates that about 531 living Americans carry the first name Berl. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Berl today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berl births was 1922 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berl. 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
531
~ 1 in 645,488 Americans
Peak year
1922
26 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,197
Tracked since 1912
Gender
Gender distribution for Berl
Out of the 1,077 babies given the name Berl since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Berl as a male name
- Ranked #5,248 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1922 (26 births)
Berl as a female name
- Ranked #5,197 in 1921
- 5 female births in 1921
- Peak: 1921 (5 births)
Popularity
Berl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Berl from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 220 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Berl remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Berl 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 Berl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Berls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Illinois, Indiana recorded the most babies named Berl, while Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Berl
The name Berl has its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "beraht," which means "bright" or "shining." The name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone with a bright or radiant personality.
In the early medieval period, the name Berl was particularly prevalent in areas of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was also found in some parts of northern France and the Low Countries, where Germanic influence was strong. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 9th and 10th centuries, appearing in various monastic records and chronicles.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Berl can be found in the Annals of Fulda, a medieval chronicle written in the 9th century by monks at the Fulda Monastery in present-day Germany. The chronicle mentions a nobleman named Berl who was involved in a dispute over land ownership in the year 840.
Throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance period, the name Berl was borne by several notable figures. One of the most prominent was Berl von Regensburg (c. 1175-1242), a German poet and minnesinger who composed lyric poetry in the courtly love tradition. Another notable figure was Berl von Nürnberg (c. 1300-1370), a merchant and politician who served as a magistrate in the city of Nuremberg.
In the 16th century, Berl Breydenbach (c. 1490-1559) was a German author and traveler who wrote one of the earliest published accounts of a journey to the Holy Land. His work, titled "Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam," provided detailed descriptions of his travels and the places he visited.
During the 17th century, Berl von Arnim (1586-1659) was a German nobleman and military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War. He is known for his role in the Battle of Wittstock in 1636, where he led Imperial forces against the Swedes.
In more recent times, the name Berl has been less common, but there have been a few notable individuals who have borne it. Berl Katznelson (1887-1944) was a Zionist leader and labor activist who played a significant role in the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
People
Berl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berl 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
Berl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 531 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berl 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 645,488 US residents.
Is Berl a common name?
We classify Berl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,077 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Berl most popular?
The single biggest year for Berl was 1922, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berl is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Berl a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Berl 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.
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.