Bj
Nickname originally derived from abbreviating masculine given names beginning with 'B'.
Name Census estimates that about 693 living Americans carry the first name Bj. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Bj today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bj births was 1982 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bj. 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
693
~ 1 in 494,595 Americans
Peak year
1982
41 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,007
Tracked since 1964
Gender
Gender distribution for Bj
Out of the 723 babies given the name Bj since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Bj as a male name
- Ranked #10,007 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1982 (41 births)
Bj as a female name
- Ranked #12,606 in 1989
- 5 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (5 births)
Popularity
Bj: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bj from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 258 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bj 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 Bj during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bjs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Hawaii, California recorded the most babies named Bj, while Oklahoma, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bj
The name Bj has its origins in ancient Scandinavian languages, particularly Old Norse. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "björn," which means "bear." The name likely emerged during the Viking Age, between the 8th and 11th centuries, when the Norse people inhabited parts of modern-day Scandinavia, Iceland, and Greenland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bj can be found in the Icelandic sagas, which are historical narratives that document the lives and adventures of notable figures from the Viking Age. For example, in the Saga of the Greenlanders, there is a character named Bjarni Herjólfsson, who is believed to have been the first European to catch sight of the North American mainland, predating Christopher Columbus's arrival by nearly 500 years.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bj or its variations. One of the most famous was Bjarni Thorarensen (1274-1341), an Icelandic chieftain and lawspeaker who played a significant role in the country's transition from the Old Norse Commonwealth to a Norwegian dependency. Another prominent figure was Bjarni Vilhjálmsson (1705-1783), an Icelandic mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
In more recent times, the name Bj has been associated with several influential figures. Bjarni Benediktsson (1908-1995) was an Icelandic politician who served as the country's Prime Minister from 1963 to 1970. Bjarni Arason (1917-1972) was a renowned Icelandic composer and conductor who helped establish the country's national symphony orchestra.
Beyond Scandinavia, the name Bj has also found its way into other cultures and languages. For instance, in the Czech Republic, the name Bjorn (a variation of Bj) has been used, although its popularity has waned in recent decades. Similarly, in Russia, the name Bjorn has been adopted, likely due to the influence of Norse culture and Vikings who traveled and settled in parts of Eastern Europe.
While the name Bj is deeply rooted in Norse and Scandinavian history, it has transcended its origins and gained recognition across various cultures and regions, reflecting the enduring legacy of the Viking Age and its impact on the world.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Bj
People
Bj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bj 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
Bj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 693 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bj 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 494,595 US residents.
Is Bj a common name?
We classify Bj as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 723 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bj most popular?
The single biggest year for Bj was 1982, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bj is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bj a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Bj 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.