Find out how popular the last name Bertram is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bertram.

Bertram, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bertram surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bertram in America

Bertram is the 4236th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bertram surname appeared 8,369 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Bertram.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bertram to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bertram

The surname Bertram has its origins in ancient France, tracing back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Bertram, which is composed of the elements "berht" meaning "bright" and "hram" meaning "raven." This name was often given to those with dark hair or complexion.

In the early medieval period, the name Bertram was particularly prevalent in Normandy, where it appears in various historical records and manuscripts from that time. One notable early reference is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Bertram is listed as holding lands in Wiltshire, England.

The earliest recorded spelling of the surname Bertram can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1202, where a certain Robertus Bertram is mentioned. Over the centuries, the name has been subject to various orthographic variations, including Bertrame, Bertran, and Berthram.

Bertram has also been associated with several place names throughout history, such as Bertramingham in Norfolk, England, which was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bertramingaham." This suggests that the name may have been adopted as a locative surname by those who hailed from these areas.

One of the earliest and most notable figures bearing the surname Bertram was Sir Roger Bertram (c. 1195-1242), a Norman knight who fought in the Barons' War against King John of England. Another prominent individual was Phillipus de Bertram (c. 1270-1344), a French scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Paris.

During the 14th century, a branch of the Bertram family settled in Scotland, where they became landowners in the county of Berwickshire. One of their descendants, Sir William Bertram (c. 1450-1510), served as the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland under King James IV.

In the literary realm, the name Bertram is associated with the English playwright and poet John Bertram (c. 1585-1639), who authored several plays and poems during the Jacobean era.

Another notable figure was Sir Roger Bertram (1672-1726), an English naval officer and Member of Parliament, who played a crucial role in the War of the Spanish Succession.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Bertram, reflecting its long and rich heritage spanning multiple countries and centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bertram

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bertram.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bertram was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bertram has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bertram was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bertram, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!