Byard
A masculine English name derived from the Old English words "byre" (cattle barn) and "hierde" (herdsman).
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Byard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Byard today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Byard births was 1920 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Byard. 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 Byard is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Byards were born before 1956.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Byard. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1920
9 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1960 SSA rank
#3,710
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Byard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Byard from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 54 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
Byard 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 Byard 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 Byard
The name Byard is an English given name that dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated as a variant of the Old English name Beornweard, which was composed of the elements "beorn" meaning "warrior" and "weard" meaning "guard" or "protector." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a professional soldier or guard.
The earliest recorded use of the name Byard can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a surname. It is likely that the name transitioned from a surname to a given name in the following centuries. During the Middle Ages, it was not uncommon for surnames to become adopted as first names, particularly among the lower classes.
One of the earliest documented instances of Byard as a given name dates back to the late 13th century, when a man named Byard de Saunford was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279. This suggests that the name had already gained some popularity by this time.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Byard. One of the earliest was Byard the Younger, a 14th-century English composer and musician who served in the court of King Edward III. Another was Byard Burnell, a 16th-century English jurist and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and Chief Baron of the Exchequer.
In the 17th century, Byard Traheron was a Welsh clergyman and author who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Wales. He translated several religious works into Welsh and was known for his efforts to promote education and literacy among the Welsh people.
During the 18th century, Byard Bramble was an English naval officer who served in the Royal Navy and participated in several notable battles during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.
In more recent times, Byard F. Brogan was an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Brogan Cadillac Company in the early 20th century. He was also a prominent supporter of various charitable causes in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
While the name Byard has never been extremely common, it has maintained a presence throughout the centuries, particularly in England and the United States. Its origins as a surname and its evolution into a given name reflect the rich linguistic and cultural history of the English language.
People
Byard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Byard 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
Byard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Byard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Byard 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 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Byard a common name?
We classify Byard as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Byard most popular?
The single biggest year for Byard was 1920, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Byard is about 80 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 Byard in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Byard a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Byard 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.
Is Byard still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Byard 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 Byard 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 Byard?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.