Bertram
Of German origin, meaning "bright raven" or "bright bear".
Name Census estimates that about 2,699 living Americans carry the first name Bertram. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bertram today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bertram births was 1923 (228 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bertram. 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.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,993 Americans
Peak year
1923
228 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,806
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Bertram: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bertram from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,942 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
Bertram 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 Bertram during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bertrams live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Bertram, while Virginia, Rhode Island, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 153 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bertram
The name Bertram originates from the Germanic languages, deriving from the elements "beraht" meaning "bright" and "hraban" meaning "raven". It emerged during the medieval period across various Germanic cultures and regions. The earliest recorded spelling was "Berahtram" in Old High German.
An early historical reference to the name appears in the 9th century Latin chronicle "Vita Hludovici Imperatoris" by the Frankish scholar Thegan of Trier. He mentions a Count Bertram who served as a courtier under the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious in the early 800s.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Bertram the Elder, Count of Toulouse, who lived from around 850 to 896 AD. He was a powerful nobleman and military leader in the Carolingian Empire during the reign of Charles the Bald.
In the 11th century, Bertram of Aquitaine (1000-1088) was a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the head of the school at the Abbey of Aurillac in France. His writings on theology and philosophy were influential during the medieval period.
Another notable historical figure was Bertram de Born (1140-1215), a French nobleman and troubadour from the Aquitaine region. He is renowned for his sirventes, a form of satirical poetry, and his participation in the conflicts between Henry II of England and his sons.
In England, Bertram de Verdun (1190-1245) was a prominent baronial leader during the reign of King John and the early years of Henry III. He played a key role in the negotiations that led to the sealing of the Magna Carta in 1215.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who bore the name Bertram, reflecting its long-standing use across various cultures and regions, particularly in medieval Europe.
People
Bertram + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bertram 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
Bertram: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bertram?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,699 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bertram 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 126,993 US residents.
Is Bertram a common name?
We classify Bertram as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,946 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bertram most popular?
The single biggest year for Bertram was 1923, when 228 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bertram is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bertram a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bertram 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.
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.