Bernise
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the French "Bérnèse".
Name Census estimates that about 29 living Americans carry the first name Bernise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bernise today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bernise births was 1916 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bernise. 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 Bernise. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
29
~ 1 in 11,819,115 Americans
Peak year
1916
8 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,115
Tracked since 1914
Census
Bernise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 228 people with the first name Bernise, which placed it at #35,335 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
#35,335
National first-name rank
People counted
228
228 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
39.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bernise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bernise is Hispanic at 39.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and White (19.3%). 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 Bernise 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 Bernise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino39.0% · 89
- Black or African American32.5% · 74
- White19.3% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 7
- Two or more races3.1% · 7
Popularity
Bernise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bernise from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 35 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Bernise remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bernise 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 Bernise 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 Bernise
The name Bernise is a feminine given name with roots tracing back to the French language and culture. It is a variation of the name Bernice, which is derived from the ancient Greek name Berenike. The name Berenike itself is composed of two Greek words: "phero" meaning "to bring" and "nike" meaning "victory." Thus, the name Bernise carries the meaning of "she who brings victory."
In ancient times, the name Berenike was borne by several prominent figures in Greek and Egyptian history. One of the most notable was Berenike II, a Ptolemaic queen of ancient Egypt who lived from around 273 BCE to 221 BCE. She is remembered for her contributions to the Library of Alexandria and for her patronage of the arts and sciences.
The earliest recorded example of the name Bernise can be traced back to the 12th century in France. During this period, the name was likely influenced by the prevalence of the name Bernice in the Bible and other religious texts.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bernise. One such figure was Bernise Robinson (1901-1991), an American pianist and music educator who was a pioneer in promoting the works of African American composers. Another was Bernise Summers (1917-2008), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films during the mid-20th century.
In the literary world, Bernise Shurack (1913-1999) was a notable American writer and editor who published several books on Jewish history and culture. In the field of education, Bernise Dallaire (1923-2017) was a Canadian educator and author who made significant contributions to the development of early childhood education programs.
Finally, Bernise Teasie (1927-2015) was a pioneering African American social worker and civil rights activist who worked tirelessly to promote equality and social justice in her community.
While the name Bernise has its roots in ancient cultures and languages, it has endured through the centuries and continues to be borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and fields, each leaving their unique mark on history.
People
Bernise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernise 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
Bernise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bernise 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 Bernise a common name?
We classify Bernise 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, 99 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bernise most popular?
The single biggest year for Bernise was 1916, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bernise is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bernise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 228 people with the name Bernise, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,335 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 Bernise 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 Bernise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bernise leans strongly female. 213 people counted with this name were female (94.7%), compared with 12 male bearers (5.3%). 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 Bernise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bernise is Hispanic at 39.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and White (19.3%). 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 Bernise most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Bernise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.0% (89 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 Bernise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bernise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bernise 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 Bernise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bernise 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 Bernise 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 called Bernise?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.