Berten
A diminutive form of the German name Bertram, originating from the Germanic elements beraht (meaning "bright") and hram (meaning "raven").
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Berten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Berten today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berten births was 1941 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berten. 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 Berten is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bertens were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Berten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1941
6 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1944 SSA rank
#3,477
Tracked since 1941
Popularity
Berten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Berten 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 Berten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Berten
The name Berten has its origins in the Germanic languages, stemming from the root words "Beraht" and "Berhta", which mean "bright" or "shining". This name first gained popularity during the Middle Ages across various regions of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Berten can be traced back to the 8th century, when a Frankish nobleman named Berten of Toulouse was mentioned in historical chronicles. He played a significant role in the military campaigns of Charlemagne, the King of the Franks.
In the 11th century, Berten the Venerable, a Benedictine monk and scholar from Saxony, gained recognition for his contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts and his teachings on theology and philosophy. His birthdate is estimated to be around 1020 AD.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the name Berten was Berten van Orley (1492-1542), a Flemish Renaissance painter known for his religious works and portraits commissioned by the nobility of the time.
In the 17th century, Berten Roghman (1620-1688), a Dutch Golden Age painter, gained fame for his landscapes, still lifes, and genre paintings depicting everyday life in the Dutch Republic.
Fast forward to the 19th century, Berten Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), a Danish neoclassical sculptor, left a lasting impact on the art world with his works such as the Statue of Christ and the Lion Monument in Lucerne, Switzerland.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who carried the name Berten, but the name has persisted through various cultures and time periods, reflecting its enduring appeal and significance.
People
Berten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berten 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
Berten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berten 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Berten a common name?
We classify Berten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Berten most popular?
The single biggest year for Berten was 1941, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berten is about 86 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 Berten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Berten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Berten 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 Berten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Berten 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 Berten 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 are named Berten?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.