Bernaldo
A masculine name of Spanish and Italian origin meaning "brave as a bear".
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Bernaldo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bernaldo today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bernaldo births was 1965 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bernaldo. 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 Bernaldo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1965
6 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2007 SSA rank
#12,579
Tracked since 1965
Census
Bernaldo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Bernaldo, which placed it at #32,383 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
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
77.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bernaldo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bernaldo is Hispanic at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.6%) and Black (8.8%). 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 Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino77.7% · 202
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.6% · 25
- Black or African American8.8% · 23
- White2.7% · 7
- Two or more races1.2% · 3
Popularity
Bernaldo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bernaldo from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Bernaldo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo
The name Bernaldo has its origins in the Spanish and Portuguese languages, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Germanic name "Bernhard," which means "brave bear." The name gained popularity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with strong Germanic cultural influences.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bernaldo can be found in the 12th-century Spanish epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid." In this literary work, Bernaldo is mentioned as a nobleman and ally of the legendary hero El Cid Campeador. This reference suggests that the name was already in use among the aristocracy and military circles of medieval Spain.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Bernaldo. One such individual was Bernaldo de Quirós (1144-1211), a Spanish nobleman and military commander who participated in the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule. He is remembered for his valor and strategic leadership during the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
Another prominent figure with this name was Bernaldo Vázquez de Tapia (1479-1553), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He played a significant role in the subjugation of the Aztec Empire and served as a trusted advisor to Cortés during the campaign.
In the 16th century, Bernaldo de Gálvez (1520-1584) was a Spanish theologian and prelate who served as the Bishop of Cuzco in Peru. He is renowned for his efforts in defending the rights of indigenous peoples and advocating for their fair treatment during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Bernaldo Vieira de Melo (1817-1890) was a prominent Portuguese politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1868 to 1869. He played a crucial role in the modernization and development of Portuguese society during his tenure.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Bernaldo, highlighting its rich heritage and cultural significance in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds.
People
Bernaldo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernaldo 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
Bernaldo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernaldo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bernaldo 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 11,819,115 US residents.
Is Bernaldo a common name?
We classify Bernaldo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bernaldo most popular?
The single biggest year for Bernaldo was 1965, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bernaldo is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bernaldo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Bernaldo, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 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 Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bernaldo leans strongly male. 260 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 5 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Bernaldo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bernaldo is Hispanic at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.6%) and Black (8.8%). 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 Bernaldo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Bernaldo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (202 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 Bernaldo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bernaldo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo 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 Bernaldo?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Bernaldo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.