Berkeley
Berkeley is given to both girls and boys: 71 girls and 10 boys were given it in 2025 (#2,490 among girls’ names and #7,739 among boys’, #4,084 among all names counting both); 2,973 Americans have been recorded with it since 1913 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,660 Americans named Berkeley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 13 years old and half are between 7 and 22.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Berkeley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Berkeley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Berkeley is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “birch” (beorc) and “meadow, leigh” (leah).
From Old English beorc (“birch”) + leah (“meadow, leigh”). Equivalent to birch + -ley (“lea”).
/ˈbɝkli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Berkeley?
#2,490 among girls’ names, 2025
Berkeley fell from #1,885 in 2015 to #2,490 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 60.5 to 44.2 per million.
133 babies in 2016, the peak
Berkeley peaked in 2016, when 133 babies were given it (117 girls, #1,778 among girls’ names). The 81 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 61% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 71 | #2,490 | 10 | #7,739 |
| 2024 | 76 | #2,392 | 7 | #10,038 |
| 2023 | 81 | #2,273 | 11 | #7,342 |
| 2022 | 80 | #2,321 | 15 | #5,908 |
| 2021 | 89 | #2,120 | 12 | #6,752 |
| 2020 | 100 | #1,909 | 10 | #7,583 |
| 2019 | 98 | #1,973 | 18 | #5,177 |
| 2018 | 115 | #1,776 | 17 | #5,345 |
| 2017 | 119 | #1,763 | 14 | #6,090 |
| 2016 | 117 | #1,778 | 16 | #5,587 |
Every recorded year (102)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 108 | #1,885 | 17 | #5,315 |
| 2014 | 85 | #2,216 | 14 | #6,025 |
| 2013 | 84 | #2,218 | 21 | #4,482 |
| 2012 | 77 | #2,403 | 20 | #4,705 |
| 2011 | 88 | #2,158 | 21 | #4,523 |
| 2010 | 76 | #2,455 | 12 | #6,728 |
| 2009 | 56 | #3,049 | 10 | #7,746 |
| 2008 | 56 | #3,061 | 16 | #5,515 |
| 2007 | 48 | #3,434 | 7 | #9,882 |
| 2006 | 43 | #3,625 | 9 | #8,064 |
| 2005 | 45 | #3,369 | 13 | #5,902 |
| 2004 | 30 | #4,507 | 16 | #5,031 |
| 2003 | 24 | #5,104 | 10 | #6,775 |
| 2002 | 21 | #5,476 | 10 | #6,583 |
| 2001 | 29 | #4,221 | 8 | #7,599 |
| 2000 | 22 | #5,164 | 8 | #7,506 |
| 1999 | 19 | #5,454 | 11 | #5,687 |
| 1998 | 19 | #5,391 | 14 | #4,667 |
| 1997 | 20 | #5,032 | 7 | #7,355 |
| 1996 | 12 | #7,187 | 8 | #6,554 |
| 1995 | 18 | #5,241 | 9 | #5,963 |
| 1994 | 12 | #7,150 | 11 | #5,130 |
| 1993 | 14 | #6,298 | 8 | #6,275 |
| 1992 | 10 | #8,123 | 6 | #7,509 |
| 1991 | 11 | #7,475 | 7 | #6,574 |
| 1990 | 8 | #9,334 | under 5 | |
| 1989 | 11 | #6,997 | 10 | #4,843 |
| 1988 | 5 | #11,997 | under 5 | |
| 1987 | 11 | #6,376 | under 5 | |
| 1986 | 11 | #6,204 | 6 | #5,999 |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,625 | 7 | #5,194 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,247 | under 5 | |
| 1983 | 5 | #10,420 | 7 | #4,972 |
| 1982 | 6 | #9,334 | under 5 | |
| 1981 | 6 | #9,231 | under 5 | |
| 1979 | under 5 | 7 | #4,894 | |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,652 | 6 | #5,126 |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,422 | under 5 | |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,237 | 5 | #5,551 |
| 1973 | under 5 | 7 | #4,094 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 9 | #3,372 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 5 | #4,979 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 7 | #3,876 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 11 | #2,589 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 7 | #3,266 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 5 | #3,992 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 6 | #3,568 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 5 | #4,097 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 5 | #4,086 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 6 | #3,668 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 5 | #4,115 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 6 | #3,694 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 14 | #2,206 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 9 | #2,840 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 8 | #2,989 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 8 | #2,981 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 5 | #3,870 | |
| 1952 | under 5 | 9 | #2,689 | |
| 1951 | under 5 | 10 | #2,508 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 5 | #3,732 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 6 | #3,336 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 6 | #3,349 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 10 | #2,514 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 9 | #2,548 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 8 | #2,582 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 9 | #2,573 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 9 | #2,503 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 7 | #2,901 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 8 | #2,624 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 9 | #2,500 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 7 | #2,881 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 5 | #3,691 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 14 | #1,940 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 6 | #3,307 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 7 | #3,114 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 8 | #2,888 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 9 | #2,795 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 10 | #2,611 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 11 | #2,532 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 11 | #2,581 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 5 | #4,261 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 15 | #2,139 | |
| 1923 | 5 | #5,048 | 6 | #3,857 |
| 1922 | under 5 | 12 | #2,500 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 7 | #3,556 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 12 | #2,471 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 10 | #2,691 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 13 | #2,272 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 7 | #3,250 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 7 | #3,116 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 8 | #2,471 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 6 | #2,529 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Berkeley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 2,973 Americans recorded as Berkeley, 70% are girls and 30% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Berkeley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Berkeley, and how old are they?
2,660 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 2,973 Americans ever recorded as Berkeley. The median Berkeley alive today is 13 years old; half are between 7 and 22.
The 2020 Census counted 2,130 people named Berkeley (1,533 women and girls, 597 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,171 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 21 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 82 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 83 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 226 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 856 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,400 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Berkeley born?
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 10 | #2,061 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 6 | #1,301 | 0.4× |
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Berkeley with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 13,255 babies since 1880, Berkeley is the second most given (22% of them). In 2025 it was given to 81 of their 472 babies (17%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Berkeley
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Berkeley and names like it
- Compare Berkeley and BerkleyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sBerkeley peaked in 2016.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Berkeley since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Berkeley: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2016The year the most babies were named Berkeley.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Berkeley alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with BMost given first.