Bridgitte
A French feminine name derived from the name Brigitte, meaning "exalted one".
Name Census estimates that about 561 living Americans carry the first name Bridgitte. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bridgitte today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bridgitte births was 1961 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bridgitte. 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
561
~ 1 in 610,970 Americans
Peak year
1961
30 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2016 SSA rank
#16,687
Tracked since 1958
Census
Bridgitte in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 574 people with the first name Bridgitte, which placed it at #18,700 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,700
National first-name rank
People counted
574
574 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bridgitte
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bridgitte is White at 47.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Hispanic (18.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bridgitte described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bridgitte at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.7% · 274
- Black or African American26.5% · 152
- Hispanic or Latino18.6% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 18
- Two or more races3.1% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 5
Popularity
Bridgitte: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bridgitte from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 229 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bridgitte 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 Bridgitte during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bridgittes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Bridgitte, while Georgia, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bridgitte
The name Bridgitte is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old Norse name Brydhild, which means "bride" or "prosperous battle." It was a popular name among the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Bridgitte can be traced back to the 9th century, when it appeared in various medieval manuscripts and records. One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name was Saint Bridgitte of Sweden (1303-1373), a mystic and founder of the Bridgettine Order of nuns.
In the following centuries, the name Bridgitte gained popularity across Europe, particularly in England, France, and Germany. Among the notable individuals with this name were Bridgitte Bardot (1934-), the French actress and fashion icon known for her roles in films such as "And God Created Woman" and "Contempt."
Another famous Bridgitte was Bridgitte Nielsen (1963-), the Danish actress and model who gained international recognition for her roles in films like "Red Sonja" and "Beverly Hills Cop II." She was also known for her marriage to actor Sylvester Stallone.
In the field of literature, Bridgitte Aubert (1939-) is a French writer and poet who has published numerous works, including the novel "La Vallée des Merveilles" (The Valley of Wonders) and the poetry collection "Éclats de sel" (Salt Splinters).
The name Bridgitte has also been borne by notable figures in the arts and sciences. Bridgitte Townsend (1934-2015) was a Canadian painter and printmaker known for her abstract expressionist works, while Bridgitte Raynaud (1939-) is a French mathematician renowned for her contributions to the field of dynamical systems.
Throughout its history, the name Bridgitte has maintained its distinct Germanic roots and has been associated with strength, prosperity, and feminine beauty. Its enduring popularity across various cultures and time periods is a testament to its timeless appeal.
People
Bridgitte + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bridgitte 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
Bridgitte: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bridgitte?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 561 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bridgitte 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 610,970 US residents.
Is Bridgitte a common name?
We classify Bridgitte as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 628 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bridgitte most popular?
The single biggest year for Bridgitte was 1961, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bridgitte is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bridgitte in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 574 people with the name Bridgitte, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,700 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bridgitte in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bridgitte?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bridgitte appears almost entirely female. Of the 574 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bridgitte?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bridgitte is White at 47.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Hispanic (18.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bridgitte most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bridgitte in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.7% (274 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Bridgitte in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bridgitte a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bridgitte 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.
Is Bridgitte still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bridgitte 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 Bridgitte 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.
How many people are named Bridgitte?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.