Bernabe
A masculine name of Spanish origin meaning "son of consolation".
Name Census estimates that about 1,408 living Americans carry the first name Bernabe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bernabe today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bernabe births was 1993 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bernabe. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 243,433 Americans
Peak year
1993
37 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,895
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Bernabe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bernabe from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 277 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bernabe 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 Bernabe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bernabes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Bernabe, while New Mexico, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 286 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bernabe
The name Bernabe originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the Hebrew name Barnabas, which means "son of consolation" or "son of encouragement." The name gained popularity during the early years of Christianity and has been in use since ancient times.
Barnabas was a prominent figure in the New Testament, serving as a companion and missionary alongside the Apostle Paul. He was a Cypriot Jew who embraced Christianity and played a pivotal role in the early Christian church. The Book of Acts in the New Testament documents his missionary journeys and his work in spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Bernabe was Saint Bernabe, who lived in the 6th century and was a Christian martyr and bishop of Crete. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
In the Middle Ages, the name Bernabe appeared in various historical records and manuscripts. One notable figure was Bernabe de Cabrera, a 14th-century Spanish nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the War of the Sicilian Vespers against the French.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained prominence in Italy, particularly in the city of Genoa, where Bernabe Brea (1516-1594) was a renowned historian and author who wrote extensively about the history of Genoa.
Another important figure was Bernabe Cobo (1582-1657), a Spanish Jesuit missionary and historian who spent many years in Peru and wrote a detailed account of the natural and cultural history of the Inca Empire.
In the 19th century, Bernabe Gutierrez (1784-1839) was a Mexican military officer and politician who served as the interim president of Mexico in 1836 during a turbulent period of the country's history.
Bernabe Arango (1899-1986) was a prominent Colombian writer and journalist known for his novels and short stories that explored themes of social injustice and the struggles of the working class in Colombia.
Throughout history, the name Bernabe has been borne by individuals from various cultural and religious backgrounds, reflecting its enduring presence across different regions and time periods.
People
Bernabe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernabe 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
Bernabe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernabe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,408 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bernabe 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 243,433 US residents.
Is Bernabe a common name?
We classify Bernabe as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,807 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bernabe most popular?
The single biggest year for Bernabe was 1993, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bernabe is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bernabe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bernabe 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.