Byrd
Byrd is an English name derived from the bird, referring to one with cheerful or bird-like qualities.
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the first name Byrd. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Byrd today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Byrd births was 1919 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Byrd. 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 Byrd is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Byrds were born before 1954.
People living today
128
~ 1 in 2,677,768 Americans
Peak year
1919
33 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1963 SSA rank
#3,873
Tracked since 1880
Census
Byrd in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 342 people with the first name Byrd, which placed it at #26,967 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
#26,967
National first-name rank
People counted
342
342 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Byrd
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Byrd is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.0%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Byrd 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 Byrd at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 228
- Black or African American26.0% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 8
- Two or more races2.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Byrd
Byrd is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 962 total registrations, 709 (73.7%) were male and 253 (26.3%) were female.
Byrd as a male name
- Ranked #4,115 in 1963
- 5 male births in 1963
- Peak: 1919 (26 births)
Byrd as a female name
- Ranked #3,873 in 1934
- 6 female births in 1934
- Peak: 1893 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Byrd on both sides of the split. Of the 338 people counted with this name, 268 were male (79.3%) and 70 were female (20.7%).
Popularity
Byrd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Byrd from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 203 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
Byrd 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 Byrd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Byrds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Byrd
The name Byrd is an English given name that originates from the Old English word "bridd," meaning "young bird." It is believed to have been initially used as a nickname or descriptive name for people who were nimble, quick, or lively, much like a young bird.
In the Middle Ages, the name Byrd was commonly found in various English records and documents, such as the Domesday Book of 1086. It was particularly prevalent in areas like Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, where the Old English language had a stronger influence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Byrd can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1190, where a person named Byrd de Sutton is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 12th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Byrd. One of the most famous is William Byrd (c. 1540-1623), an English composer of the Renaissance period who is considered one of the greatest composers of sacred music in England.
Another prominent figure was William Byrd II (1674-1744), a wealthy planter and founder of Richmond, Virginia. He played a significant role in the early development of the British colony of Virginia.
In literature, the name Byrd appears in the works of William Shakespeare, such as in the play "The Taming of the Shrew," where a character named Byrd is mentioned.
Other notable individuals with the name Byrd include Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888-1957), an American naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to Antarctica, and Bobby Byrd (1934-2007), an American funk and soul singer best known as a founding member of the James Brown Revue.
While the name Byrd may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it eventually became a given name in its own right, particularly in England and later in North America, where it was brought by English settlers.
People
Byrd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Byrd 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
Byrd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Byrd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 128 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Byrd 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 2,677,768 US residents.
Is Byrd a common name?
We classify Byrd as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 962 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Byrd most popular?
The single biggest year for Byrd was 1919, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Byrd is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Byrd in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 342 people with the name Byrd, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,967 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 Byrd 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 Byrd?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Byrd on both sides of the split. Of the 338 people counted with this name, 268 were male (79.3%) and 70 were female (20.7%). 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 Byrd?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Byrd is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Black (26.0%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Byrd most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Byrd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (228 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 Byrd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Byrd a male name?
Yes, 73.7% of people registered as Byrd 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 Byrd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Byrd 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 Byrd 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 have Byrd as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Byrd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.