Bernitta
A feminine name of German origin meaning "bright" or "shining" one.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Bernitta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bernitta today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bernitta births was 1937 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bernitta. 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
- • The typical person named Bernitta is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bernittas were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bernitta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1937
5 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1966 SSA rank
#6,645
Tracked since 1937
Popularity
Bernitta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bernitta from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 10 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bernitta 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 Bernitta 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 Bernitta
The name Bernitta is a feminine given name of uncertain origin. It may be derived from the Germanic name Bernhard, which is composed of the elements "bern" meaning "bear" and "hard" meaning "brave" or "hardy." Alternatively, it could be a variant of the Old French name Burnette, meaning "little brown one."
One possible theory traces the name back to the 8th century, when it might have been used as a nickname for a woman with brown hair or a tanned complexion. However, there is little historical evidence to support this claim definitively.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bernitta date back to the late 19th century in the United States. It gained some popularity as a given name during this period, particularly in the southern states.
Notable individuals named Bernitta throughout history include:
1. Bernitta Harrington (1900-1984), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions in the 1920s and 1930s.
2. Bernitta Falconer (1912-1998), a Canadian writer and journalist who published several novels and short story collections.
3. Bernitta Bellamy (1924-2009), an American civil rights activist and educator who fought for desegregation in the southern United States.
4. Bernitta Kavanagh (1939-2021), an Irish poet and literary critic whose works explored themes of identity and feminism.
5. Bernitta Hawkins (1946-present), an American politician who served as a state representative in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003.
While the name Bernitta has never been extremely common, it has maintained a niche presence throughout the 20th century, particularly in certain regions of the United States and Canada. Its origins and meaning remain somewhat ambiguous, adding to its distinctive character.
People
Bernitta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernitta 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
Bernitta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernitta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bernitta 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Bernitta a common name?
We classify Bernitta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bernitta most popular?
The single biggest year for Bernitta was 1937, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bernitta is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Bernitta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bernitta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bernitta 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 Bernitta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bernitta 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 Bernitta 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Bernitta?
Find out how many people share the name Bernitta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.