Bertram
Bertram was given to 9 boys in 2025, #8,349 among boys’ names; 7,955 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2,360 Americans named Bertram and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (30% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 47 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bertram by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bertram mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bertram is “a male given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the senses “bright” (*berhtaz) and “raven” (*hrabnaz).
From Proto-Germanic *berhtaz (“bright”) + *hrabnaz (“raven”).
/ˈbɜɹtɹəm/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bertram?
#8,349 among boys’ names, 2025
Bertram fell from #6,372 in 2015 to #8,349 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 6.8 to 5.3 per million.
228 babies in 1923, the peak
Bertram peaked in 1923, when 228 boys were given it, #394 among boys’ names. The 9 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #8,349 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 10 | #7,841 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 5 | #12,483 | under 0.01 |
| 2022 | 9 | #8,402 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 6 | #10,963 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 9 | #8,159 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 12 | #6,823 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 5 | #12,404 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 6 | #10,914 | under 0.01 |
| 2015 | 13 | #6,372 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 7 | #9,758 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 7 | #9,761 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 11 | #7,114 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 9 | #8,218 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 7 | #9,974 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 10 | #7,654 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 10 | #7,485 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 11 | #6,694 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #9,041 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 9 | #7,297 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,548 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 7 | #8,288 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 9 | #6,586 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 13 | #4,900 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 19 | #3,606 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 15 | #4,194 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 14 | #4,299 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 20 | #3,332 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 14 | #4,244 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 22 | #3,006 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 31 | #2,293 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 15 | #3,791 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 19 | #3,098 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 17 | #3,082 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 18 | #2,844 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 20 | #2,605 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 17 | #2,842 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 28 | #1,936 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 32 | #1,750 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 37 | #1,622 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 28 | #1,951 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 18 | #2,625 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 25 | #2,053 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 38 | #1,508 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 26 | #1,911 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 25 | #1,936 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 37 | #1,455 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 43 | #1,291 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 42 | #1,270 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 46 | #1,213 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 53 | #1,127 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 67 | #990 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 64 | #960 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 57 | #972 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 61 | #925 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 71 | #860 | 0.04 |
| 1965 | 62 | #934 | 0.03 |
| 1964 | 69 | #914 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 59 | #986 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 63 | #953 | 0.03 |
| 1961 | 61 | #990 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 58 | #1,008 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 63 | #968 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 68 | #915 | 0.03 |
| 1957 | 62 | #965 | 0.03 |
| 1956 | 68 | #905 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 83 | #801 | 0.04 |
| 1954 | 80 | #806 | 0.04 |
| 1953 | 84 | #773 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 69 | #839 | 0.04 |
| 1951 | 86 | #749 | 0.05 |
| 1950 | 73 | #796 | 0.04 |
| 1949 | 77 | #781 | 0.04 |
| 1948 | 83 | #737 | 0.05 |
| 1947 | 73 | #805 | 0.04 |
| 1946 | 65 | #812 | 0.04 |
| 1945 | 66 | #753 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 65 | #775 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 63 | #828 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 86 | #693 | 0.06 |
| 1941 | 83 | #672 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 83 | #667 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 86 | #638 | 0.08 |
| 1938 | 81 | #668 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 76 | #688 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 79 | #661 | 0.08 |
| 1935 | 96 | #590 | 0.09 |
| 1934 | 95 | #607 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 127 | #498 | 0.13 |
| 1932 | 124 | #521 | 0.12 |
| 1931 | 141 | #478 | 0.14 |
| 1930 | 158 | #470 | 0.14 |
| 1929 | 141 | #494 | 0.13 |
| 1928 | 187 | #437 | 0.17 |
| 1927 | 177 | #460 | 0.16 |
| 1926 | 174 | #456 | 0.16 |
| 1925 | 194 | #427 | 0.17 |
| 1924 | 223 | #413 | 0.20 |
| 1923 | 228 | #394 | 0.21 |
| 1922 | 223 | #404 | 0.20 |
| 1921 | 195 | #438 | 0.18 |
| 1920 | 200 | #422 | 0.19 |
| 1919 | 184 | #433 | 0.19 |
| 1918 | 197 | #417 | 0.19 |
| 1917 | 203 | #398 | 0.22 |
| 1916 | 155 | #447 | 0.17 |
| 1915 | 159 | #429 | 0.19 |
| 1914 | 131 | #417 | 0.20 |
| 1913 | 95 | #436 | 0.19 |
| 1912 | 90 | #408 | 0.21 |
| 1911 | 52 | #395 | 0.23 |
| 1910 | 33 | #481 | 0.17 |
| 1909 | 27 | #496 | 0.16 |
| 1908 | 27 | #475 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 25 | #465 | 0.17 |
| 1906 | 28 | #413 | 0.21 |
| 1905 | 27 | #412 | 0.20 |
| 1904 | 21 | #467 | 0.16 |
| 1903 | 18 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1902 | 17 | #523 | 0.14 |
| 1901 | 13 | #566 | 0.12 |
| 1900 | 20 | #534 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 15 | #505 | 0.14 |
| 1898 | 14 | #576 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 13 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 14 | #554 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 30 | #337 | 0.26 |
| 1894 | 17 | #482 | 0.15 |
| 1893 | 13 | #542 | 0.12 |
| 1892 | 18 | #461 | 0.15 |
| 1891 | 13 | #498 | 0.13 |
| 1890 | 18 | #425 | 0.16 |
| 1889 | 18 | #435 | 0.16 |
| 1888 | 14 | #531 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 17 | #410 | 0.17 |
| 1886 | 8 | #705 | 0.07 |
| 1885 | 19 | #413 | 0.18 |
| 1884 | 16 | #471 | 0.14 |
| 1883 | 18 | #414 | 0.17 |
| 1882 | 21 | #390 | 0.18 |
| 1881 | 15 | #444 | 0.15 |
| 1880 | 18 | #405 | 0.16 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Bertram a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bertram has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 142 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Bertram: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bertram, and how old are they?
2,360 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 30% of the 7,955 Americans ever recorded as Bertram. The median Bertram alive today is 61 years old; half are between 47 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 3,109 people named Bertram (7 women and girls, 3,102 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,781 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% 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 | 283 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 878 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 641 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 329 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 127 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 97 |
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 Bertram born?
The states with the most babies named Bertram are New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, with 64% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,708 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 513 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 321 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New Jersey | 306 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 266 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 249 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 118 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Florida | 115 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 93 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Texas | 89 | not ranked | 0.2× |
Where Bertram is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bertram is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 2.5 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 boys’ 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 Bertram 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 8,201 babies since 1880, Bertram is the most given (97% of them).
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 Bertram
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 Bertram and names like it
- Compare Bertram and BertrumBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sBertram peaked in 1923.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bertram since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Bertram: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1923The year the most babies were named Bertram.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Bertram alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.