Berthol
A masculine name of Germanic origin, meaning "bright wolf" or "illustrious wolf".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Berthol. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Berthol today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Berthol births was 1917 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Berthol. 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 Berthol. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1917
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,302
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Berthol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Berthol from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 5 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
Berthol 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 Berthol 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 Berthol
The name Berthol finds its origins in the Old German language, tracing back to the 8th century AD. It is derived from the Germanic elements "berht," meaning "bright" or "shining," and "wald," signifying "rule" or "power." This combination suggests a name with the connotation of a brilliant or illustrious ruler.
Berthol was a relatively common name among the Frankish and Germanic nobility during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Carolingian chronicles, where a nobleman named Berthol of Saxony is referenced as a loyal vassal of Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
Throughout the medieval period, several notable figures bore the name Berthol. In the 11th century, Berthol of Reichenau (1008-1088) was a renowned Benedictine monk and scholar renowned for his writings on astronomy and mathematics. Another Berthol, known as Berthol of Constance (1090-1152), was a German churchman who served as the Bishop of Constance in the mid-12th century.
During the Renaissance, a few individuals with the name Berthol left their mark. Berthol Breydenbach (1440-1497) was a German cleric and traveler who documented his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in a widely read travelogue. Berthol Holbein (1492-1519), on the other hand, was a German artist and woodcarver who contributed to the famous Holbein family of painters.
In the 17th century, Berthol Niehusius (1605-1657) was a German jurist and diplomat who played a significant role in the negotiations leading to the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War. Another notable figure from this period was Berthol Schwartz (1632-1688), a German philologist and scholar known for his contributions to the study of ancient languages.
While the name Berthol has faded in popularity in recent times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of historical names, carrying with it the echoes of a bygone era and the stories of those who bore it throughout the centuries.
People
Berthol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Berthol 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
Berthol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Berthol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Berthol 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 - US residents.
Is Berthol a common name?
We classify Berthol as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Berthol most popular?
The single biggest year for Berthol was 1917, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Berthol is about 0 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 Berthol in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Berthol a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Berthol 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 Berthol still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Berthol 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 Berthol 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 Berthol?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.