Bernadette
Bernadette was given to 241 girls in 2025, #1,034 among girls’ names; 55,033 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 37,900 Americans named Bernadette and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (69% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 49 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bernadette by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bernadette mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bernadette is “a female given name from French.”
From French Bernadette, made famous by St. Bernadette of Lourdes.
/ˌbɜɹ.nəˈdɛt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bernadette?
#1,034 among girls’ names, 2025
Bernadette rose from #1,479 in 2015 to #1,034 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.09 to 0.15 per 1,000.
1,494 babies in 1958, the peak
Bernadette peaked in 1958, when 1,494 girls were given it, #213 among girls’ names. The 241 births of 2025 are 16% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 241 | #1,034 | 0.15 |
| 2024 | 187 | #1,244 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 189 | #1,237 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 182 | #1,296 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 208 | #1,175 | 0.13 |
| 2020 | 150 | #1,445 | 0.09 |
| 2019 | 139 | #1,549 | 0.08 |
| 2018 | 181 | #1,271 | 0.11 |
| 2017 | 177 | #1,318 | 0.10 |
| 2016 | 148 | #1,526 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 155 | #1,479 | 0.09 |
| 2014 | 134 | #1,604 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 95 | #2,035 | 0.05 |
| 2012 | 88 | #2,149 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 63 | #2,772 | 0.04 |
| 2010 | 79 | #2,388 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 77 | #2,466 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 78 | #2,444 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 74 | #2,516 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 95 | #2,070 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 91 | #2,061 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 96 | #1,944 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 99 | #1,859 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 101 | #1,779 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 125 | #1,498 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 110 | #1,601 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 151 | #1,242 | 0.09 |
| 1998 | 174 | #1,105 | 0.10 |
| 1997 | 158 | #1,164 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 170 | #1,086 | 0.10 |
| 1995 | 174 | #1,036 | 0.10 |
| 1994 | 185 | #1,005 | 0.10 |
| 1993 | 215 | #894 | 0.12 |
| 1992 | 235 | #844 | 0.13 |
| 1991 | 237 | #843 | 0.13 |
| 1990 | 281 | #738 | 0.15 |
| 1989 | 235 | #808 | 0.13 |
| 1988 | 270 | #706 | 0.15 |
| 1987 | 288 | #653 | 0.17 |
| 1986 | 274 | #668 | 0.16 |
| 1985 | 268 | #673 | 0.16 |
| 1984 | 321 | #572 | 0.19 |
| 1983 | 365 | #520 | 0.22 |
| 1982 | 436 | #478 | 0.26 |
| 1981 | 380 | #517 | 0.23 |
| 1980 | 434 | #484 | 0.26 |
| 1979 | 461 | #444 | 0.29 |
| 1978 | 462 | #432 | 0.30 |
| 1977 | 552 | #384 | 0.36 |
| 1976 | 538 | #382 | 0.37 |
| 1975 | 545 | #381 | 0.37 |
| 1974 | 571 | #374 | 0.39 |
| 1973 | 606 | #351 | 0.42 |
| 1972 | 637 | #349 | 0.42 |
| 1971 | 740 | #342 | 0.44 |
| 1970 | 775 | #340 | 0.44 |
| 1969 | 836 | #311 | 0.50 |
| 1968 | 922 | #287 | 0.56 |
| 1967 | 1,217 | #237 | 0.74 |
| 1966 | 1,111 | #255 | 0.66 |
| 1965 | 911 | #292 | 0.52 |
| 1964 | 934 | #304 | 0.49 |
| 1963 | 1,020 | #285 | 0.53 |
| 1962 | 1,136 | #264 | 0.58 |
| 1961 | 1,208 | #256 | 0.60 |
| 1960 | 1,424 | #226 | 0.70 |
| 1959 | 1,392 | #227 | 0.69 |
| 1958 | 1,494 | #213 | 0.74 |
| 1957 | 989 | #281 | 0.48 |
| 1956 | 927 | #292 | 0.46 |
| 1955 | 960 | #278 | 0.49 |
| 1954 | 999 | #263 | 0.51 |
| 1953 | 912 | #273 | 0.48 |
| 1952 | 995 | #249 | 0.54 |
| 1951 | 990 | #245 | 0.55 |
| 1950 | 1,043 | #233 | 0.61 |
| 1949 | 1,141 | #220 | 0.67 |
| 1948 | 1,185 | #211 | 0.70 |
| 1947 | 1,253 | #211 | 0.71 |
| 1946 | 1,321 | #188 | 0.84 |
| 1945 | 1,016 | #196 | 0.78 |
| 1944 | 1,035 | #195 | 0.78 |
| 1943 | 655 | #272 | 0.47 |
| 1942 | 373 | #364 | 0.28 |
| 1941 | 329 | #373 | 0.27 |
| 1940 | 323 | #364 | 0.28 |
| 1939 | 353 | #338 | 0.32 |
| 1938 | 367 | #331 | 0.33 |
| 1937 | 336 | #351 | 0.32 |
| 1936 | 382 | #309 | 0.37 |
| 1935 | 395 | #315 | 0.38 |
| 1934 | 619 | #252 | 0.59 |
| 1933 | 394 | #312 | 0.39 |
| 1932 | 315 | #360 | 0.30 |
| 1931 | 288 | #382 | 0.27 |
| 1930 | 323 | #379 | 0.29 |
| 1929 | 328 | #371 | 0.29 |
| 1928 | 371 | #351 | 0.32 |
| 1927 | 372 | #348 | 0.31 |
| 1926 | 368 | #350 | 0.31 |
| 1925 | 363 | #359 | 0.30 |
| 1924 | 347 | #368 | 0.28 |
| 1923 | 359 | #349 | 0.30 |
| 1922 | 339 | #356 | 0.28 |
| 1921 | 356 | #346 | 0.29 |
| 1920 | 330 | #360 | 0.28 |
| 1919 | 303 | #372 | 0.27 |
| 1918 | 283 | #389 | 0.24 |
| 1917 | 269 | #384 | 0.25 |
| 1916 | 253 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1915 | 256 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1914 | 201 | #377 | 0.26 |
| 1913 | 183 | #359 | 0.29 |
| 1912 | 142 | #387 | 0.25 |
| 1911 | 92 | #424 | 0.22 |
| 1910 | 96 | #402 | 0.24 |
| 1909 | 93 | #385 | 0.27 |
| 1908 | 95 | #370 | 0.28 |
| 1907 | 62 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1906 | 55 | #459 | 0.19 |
| 1905 | 46 | #498 | 0.16 |
| 1904 | 46 | #486 | 0.17 |
| 1903 | 56 | #425 | 0.21 |
| 1902 | 53 | #427 | 0.20 |
| 1901 | 45 | #441 | 0.19 |
| 1900 | 47 | #495 | 0.16 |
| 1899 | 51 | #408 | 0.22 |
| 1898 | 48 | #442 | 0.19 |
| 1897 | 41 | #458 | 0.18 |
| 1896 | 49 | #409 | 0.21 |
| 1895 | 40 | #456 | 0.17 |
| 1894 | 32 | #506 | 0.14 |
| 1893 | 26 | #548 | 0.12 |
| 1892 | 22 | #592 | 0.10 |
| 1891 | 19 | #610 | 0.10 |
| 1890 | 20 | #581 | 0.11 |
| 1889 | 23 | #534 | 0.13 |
| 1888 | 16 | #642 | 0.09 |
| 1887 | 12 | #664 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 10 | #736 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 7 | #852 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 6 | #939 | 0.05 |
| 1882 | 6 | #821 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 5 | #842 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 8 | #634 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Bernadette a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bernadette has been given almost only to girls: 60 boys in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Bernadette: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bernadette, and how old are they?
37,900 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 69% of the 55,033 Americans ever recorded as Bernadette. The median Bernadette alive today is 62 years old; half are between 49 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 44,253 people named Bernadette (44,200 women and girls, 53 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 40,176 born in the U.S. The Census count is 10% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,850 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 16,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 10,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 4,210 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,640 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,170 |
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 Bernadette born?
The states with the most babies named Bernadette are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 40% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 8,268 | #1,037 | 1.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 7,008 | #1,259 | 2.1× |
| California | 4,603 | #1,370 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 3,351 | #546 | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 3,065 | #1,060 | 1.9× |
| Massachusetts | 2,024 | #776 | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 1,946 | #645 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 1,908 | #813 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 1,808 | #1,636 | 0.5× |
| New Mexico | 1,304 | not ranked | 3.8× |
Where Bernadette is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bernadette is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 3.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
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 Bernadette 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 55,405 babies since 1880, Bernadette is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 241 of their 241 babies (100%), again the most given.
| Name | Since 1880 | Births 2025 | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernadette | 55,033 | 241 | 1958 |
| Bernadetta | 199 | under 5 | 1918 |
| Bernedette | 173 | under 5 | 1969 |
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 Bernadette
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 Bernadette and names like it
- Compare Bernadette and BernadettaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sBernadette peaked in 1958.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bernadette since 1910.
- French namesWiktionary’s origin for Bernadette: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1958The year the most babies were named Bernadette.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Bernadette alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.