Berlyn
A feminine name of Old German origin meaning "from the bright meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 921 living Americans carry the first name Berlyn. It is a predominantly female name (91.3% of registrations). The average person named Berlyn today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berlyn births was 2009 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berlyn. 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
921
~ 1 in 372,155 Americans
Peak year
2009
54 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2021 SSA rank
#5,804
Tracked since 1916
Census
Berlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 952 people with the first name Berlyn, which placed it at #12,871 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
#12,871
National first-name rank
People counted
952
952 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berlyn is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.5%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Berlyn 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 Berlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.8% · 512
- Hispanic or Latino27.5% · 262
- Black or African American8.9% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 45
- Two or more races3.7% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 13
Gender
Gender distribution for Berlyn
Berlyn leans heavily female at 91.3% of total registrations, but 87 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Berlyn as a male name
- Ranked #12,387 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1934 (11 births)
Berlyn as a female name
- Ranked #5,804 in 2024
- 21 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (54 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Berlyn leans strongly female. 837 people counted with this name were female (88.0%), compared with 114 male bearers (12.0%).
Popularity
Berlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Berlyn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 340 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Berlyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Berlyn 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 Berlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Berlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Florida, Utah recorded the most babies named Berlyn, while Texas, New York, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Berlyn
The name Berlyn has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically Old English and Old Norse. It is derived from the Old English "beorn," meaning "warrior" or "hero," and the Old Norse "linn," meaning "lake" or "pool." The combination of these elements suggests a meaning of "warrior of the lake" or "heroic lake dweller."
In ancient times, the name was likely associated with individuals who lived near bodies of water, perhaps skilled warriors or hunters who relied on the lakes and rivers for sustenance and transportation. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Berlyn was a Anglo-Saxon nobleman who lived in the 9th century. Historical records from that time mention him as a respected leader and skilled warrior who defended his lands against Viking raids.
During the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity among the nobility and landed gentry in various parts of Europe. A notable bearer of the name was Berlyn of Aquitaine, a French knight who fought in the Crusades in the 12th century. He was known for his bravery and military prowess on the battlefield.
In the 16th century, a Dutch explorer named Berlyn van der Meer accompanied the famous navigator Willem Barentsz on his expeditions to the Arctic regions. Van der Meer's journals and maps provided valuable insights into the geography and cultures of the far north.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to the British Isles. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Sir Berlyn Knowles, an English soldier and statesman who served as a member of Parliament in the 17th century. He played a significant role in the English Civil War and was a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause.
Another noteworthy individual with the name was Berlyn Schwarzenegger, a German-born Austrian bodybuilder and actor who rose to fame in the 20th century. Born in 1947, he became a cultural icon and enjoyed a successful career in both bodybuilding and Hollywood, starring in numerous blockbuster films.
While the name Berlyn has its roots in ancient Germanic languages, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by individuals from various walks of life, from warriors and explorers to statesmen and entertainers.
People
Berlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berlyn 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
Berlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 921 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berlyn 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 372,155 US residents.
Is Berlyn a common name?
We classify Berlyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,005 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Berlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Berlyn was 2009, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berlyn is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Berlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 952 people with the name Berlyn, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,871 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 Berlyn 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 Berlyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Berlyn leans strongly female. 837 people counted with this name were female (88.0%), compared with 114 male bearers (12.0%). 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 Berlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berlyn is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.5%) and Black (8.9%). 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 Berlyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Berlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.8% (512 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 Berlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Berlyn a female name?
Yes, 91.3% of people registered as Berlyn 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 Berlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Berlyn 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 Berlyn 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 common is the name Berlyn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.