Berny
A diminutive form of the Old German name Bernard meaning "brave bear".
Name Census estimates that about 66 living Americans carry the first name Berny. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Berny today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berny births was 2007 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berny. 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 Berny. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
66
~ 1 in 5,193,248 Americans
Peak year
2007
7 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,478
Tracked since 1992
Census
Berny in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 417 people with the first name Berny, which placed it at #23,447 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
#23,447
National first-name rank
People counted
417
417 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
64.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Berny
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berny is Hispanic at 64.3%. The next largest groups are White (15.8%) and Black (12.7%). 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 Berny 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 Berny at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino64.3% · 268
- White15.8% · 66
- Black or African American12.7% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.0% · 25
- Two or more races0.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Berny: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Berny from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 23 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Berny remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Berny 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 Berny 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 Berny
The given name Berny is derived from the Germanic word "bern," which means "bear" or "bear cub." This name has its origins in ancient Germanic cultures and was initially used to refer to individuals who possessed bear-like qualities, such as strength, courage, and resilience.
In the early medieval period, the name Berny gained popularity among various Germanic tribes, including the Franks, Saxons, and Vandals. It was often bestowed upon warriors and chieftains as a symbol of their bravery and prowess in battle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Berny can be found in the "Annales Regni Francorum," a Carolingian chronicle dating back to the 9th century. This text mentions a nobleman named Berny who served as a trusted advisor to Charlemagne, the renowned Frankish king and Holy Roman Emperor.
During the Middle Ages, the name Berny was particularly prevalent in the regions of modern-day Germany, France, and the Low Countries. It was favored by noble families and often appeared in historical records and genealogies.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Berny was Berny of Nivelles, a Frankish monk and abbot who lived in the 7th century. He is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church and is remembered for his pious life and dedication to religious reforms.
In the 11th century, a French knight named Berny de Rochefort gained fame for his exploits during the First Crusade. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles as a brave and valiant warrior who fought alongside Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Another prominent figure in history with the name Berny was Berny of Reichenau, a German Benedictine monk and scholar who lived in the 10th century. He was renowned for his contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and music theory.
In the 15th century, Berny of Avignon, a French painter and illuminator, gained recognition for his exquisite illuminated manuscripts and religious artworks. His works can be found in various museums and collections throughout Europe.
While the name Berny has waned in popularity in recent times, it still holds a unique place in history, reflecting the valor and strength associated with its ancient Germanic roots.
People
Berny + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berny 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
Berny: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berny?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berny 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 5,193,248 US residents.
Is Berny a common name?
We classify Berny as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 67 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Berny most popular?
The single biggest year for Berny was 2007, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berny is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Berny in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 417 people with the name Berny, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,447 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 Berny 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 Berny?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Berny on both sides of the split. Of the 421 people counted with this name, 336 were male (79.8%) and 85 were female (20.2%). 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 Berny?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Berny is Hispanic at 64.3%. The next largest groups are White (15.8%) and Black (12.7%). 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 Berny most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Berny in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.3% (268 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 Berny in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Berny a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Berny 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 Berny still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Berny 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 Berny 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 have Berny as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.