Bijou
A French feminine name meaning "jewel" or "little treasure".
Name Census estimates that about 289 living Americans carry the first name Bijou. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bijou today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bijou births was 2010 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bijou. 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
289
~ 1 in 1,186,001 Americans
Peak year
2010
22 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,627
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Bijou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bijou from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 128 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bijou remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bijou 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 Bijou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bijous live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bijou
The name Bijou originates from the French language, derived from the word "bijou" meaning "jewel" or "gem." This can be traced back to the Old French word "bel jou," which translates to "fine ornament" or "beautiful jewel."
The name Bijou first came into use as a given name in the 17th century, particularly among French aristocratic families who would bestow it upon their daughters as a nickname or pet name. It was a term of endearment, likening the child to a precious jewel.
In the late 18th century, the name Bijou began to appear in historical records, particularly in France and other French-speaking regions. One of the earliest recorded instances was Bijou de Bellair, a French noblewoman and socialite who lived from 1745 to 1810.
Throughout the 19th century, the name Bijou gained popularity as a given name, not just as a nickname. Several notable individuals bore the name during this time, including Bijou Heron (1803-1879), a French actress and dancer, and Bijou Frossard (1852-1923), a Swiss artist.
As the name Bijou spread beyond France, it also appeared in other cultures and languages. In the late 19th century, Bijou Loring (1867-1943) was an American actress and singer, while Bijou Fernandez (1878-1944) was a Cuban-American writer and journalist.
In the 20th century, the name Bijou continued to be used, though less frequently than in previous centuries. One notable bearer of the name was Bijou Phillips (born 1980), an American actress and model.
It is important to note that while the name Bijou has been used throughout history, it has never been a very common name, particularly in more recent times. Its usage has been relatively limited, often appearing as a middle name or nickname rather than a first name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Bijou
People
Bijou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bijou 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
Bijou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bijou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 289 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bijou 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 1,186,001 US residents.
Is Bijou a common name?
We classify Bijou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 292 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bijou most popular?
The single biggest year for Bijou was 2010, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bijou is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bijou a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bijou in the SSA data are female. 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.