Bunice
A feminine name potentially derived from the Sanskrit word "buni" meaning "earth".
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Bunice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bunice today is around 113 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bunice births was 1920 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bunice. 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
- • The typical person named Bunice is about 113 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bunices were born before 1923.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bunice. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1920
11 babies that year
Average age
113
years old
1940 SSA rank
#4,439
Tracked since 1912
Popularity
Bunice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bunice from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 27 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
Bunice 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 Bunice 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 Bunice
The name Bunice is a feminine given name of Slavic origin, derived from the Serbo-Croatian word "bunika," meaning "grandmother." It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 14th centuries, in the regions of the former Yugoslavia and parts of the Balkans.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Bunice was a Byzantine noblewoman who lived in the 14th century. She was the wife of a prominent Serbian nobleman and is mentioned in several historical documents from that era.
In the 15th century, a woman named Bunice was a member of the Croatian nobility and held significant land holdings in the region of Dalmatia. Her name appeared in various property records and legal documents from that period.
During the 16th century, a Serbian Orthodox nun named Bunice Đurđević lived in the Monastery of Mileševa, which was a significant religious and cultural center at the time. She is mentioned in the monastery's chronicles for her contributions to the spiritual life of the community.
In the 17th century, a woman named Bunice Radojević was a prominent figure in the town of Mostar, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. She was known for her philanthropic work and her support of the local Serbian Orthodox community.
Another notable bearer of the name was Bunice Milinković, a Serbian writer and poet who lived in the late 18th century. She is considered one of the earliest female writers in Serbian literature and her works focused on themes of love, nature, and patriotism.
While the name Bunice has its roots in Slavic culture, it has also been used in other parts of the world, although less commonly. The name has been adapted and spelled differently in various languages, such as Bunitza or Buniza in German, and Bunissa in Italian.
People
Bunice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bunice 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
Bunice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bunice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bunice 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 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Bunice a common name?
We classify Bunice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 48 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bunice most popular?
The single biggest year for Bunice was 1920, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bunice is about 113 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 Bunice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bunice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bunice 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 Bunice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bunice 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 Bunice 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 have the name Bunice?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.