Bernon
A variant spelling of the masculine name "Bernard" of Germanic origin meaning "brave bear".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Bernon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bernon today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bernon births was 1916 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bernon. 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 Bernon is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bernons were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bernon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1916
9 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,349
Tracked since 1916
Census
Bernon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Bernon, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bernon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bernon is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Bernon 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 Bernon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.7% · 143
- Black or African American25.8% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 9
- Two or more races3.6% · 9
Popularity
Bernon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bernon from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 23 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bernon 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 Bernon 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 Bernon
The name Bernon is a masculine given name of Germanic origin, believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German words "bern" or "bern," meaning "bear," and "mund," meaning "protection" or "defender." Together, they form the composite name Bernon, which can be interpreted as "bear protector" or "one who protects like a bear."
In the early medieval period, the name Bernon was widely used among Germanic tribes, particularly in regions that are now part of modern-day Germany, France, and the Low Countries. It was a popular name among nobility and warriors, reflecting the strength and bravery associated with bears in Germanic folklore.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bernon can be found in the Annals of Fulda, a medieval chronicle written in the 9th century. The Annals mention a Bernon, who was a monk and later became the abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Reichenau, Germany, in the late 8th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bernon. In the 11th century, Bernon of Cluny (c. 910-927) was a renowned Benedictine abbot and reformer who played a crucial role in reviving monastic life in medieval Europe. Another notable figure was Bernon of Reichenau (c. 1008-1048), a scholar and poet who made significant contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of his time.
During the 12th century, Bernon de Saint-Valery (c. 1120-1186) was a French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Second Crusade and later became the Lord of Vaux-sur-Mer. In the 13th century, Bernon de Rochefort (c. 1230-1292) was a French knight and military leader who fought in the Eighth Crusade and later served as the Grand Master of the Knights Templar.
Another notable figure was Bernon of Ferrara (c. 1330-1399), an Italian jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and advisor to the Marquess of Ferrara. He was renowned for his expertise in canon law and his contributions to legal theory and practice.
While the name Bernon has fallen out of common usage in recent times, it remains a part of historical records and genealogical records, particularly in regions with Germanic cultural influences. The name's origins and associations with strength, protection, and bravery continue to resonate with its historical significance.
People
Bernon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernon 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
Bernon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bernon 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Bernon a common name?
We classify Bernon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 68 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bernon most popular?
The single biggest year for Bernon was 1916, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bernon is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bernon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Bernon, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Bernon 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 Bernon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bernon leans strongly male. 243 people counted with this name were male (98.4%), compared with 4 female bearers (1.6%). 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 Bernon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bernon is White at 57.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Bernon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bernon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.7% (143 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 Bernon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bernon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bernon 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 Bernon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bernon 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 Bernon 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 Bernon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.