Beryl
Beryl was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,097 among girls’ names; 12,468 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,220 Americans named Beryl and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (26% of everyone recorded); the median is 74 years old and half are between 64 and 81.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Beryl by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Beryl mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Beryl is “a female given name from English derived from the gem beryl.” Its etymology gives the sense “little bear” (literally).
Also “a male given name from Yiddish, meaning “little bear”.”
From beryl or an anglicization of Yiddish בערל (berl, literally “little bear”).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Beryl?
#11,097 among girls’ names, 2025
Beryl fell from #11,025 in 2015 to #11,097 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born held at 5.0 per million.
379 babies in 1920, the peak
Beryl peaked in 1920, when 379 babies were given it (311 girls, #374 among girls’ names). The 8 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,097 | under 5 | |
| 2024 | 8 | #11,278 | under 5 | |
| 2023 | 9 | #10,445 | under 5 | |
| 2022 | 9 | #10,522 | under 5 | |
| 2020 | 9 | #10,380 | under 5 | |
| 2019 | 8 | #11,531 | under 5 | |
| 2018 | 9 | #10,694 | under 5 | |
| 2017 | 14 | #7,907 | under 5 | |
| 2016 | 9 | #11,013 | under 5 | |
| 2015 | 9 | #11,025 | under 5 |
Every recorded year (138)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 14 | #8,119 | under 5 | |
| 2013 | 10 | #10,374 | under 5 | |
| 2012 | 12 | #9,192 | under 5 | |
| 2010 | 10 | #10,547 | under 5 | |
| 2008 | 5 | #17,946 | under 5 | |
| 2007 | 7 | #14,146 | under 5 | |
| 2005 | 9 | #11,049 | under 5 | |
| 2004 | 7 | #12,953 | under 5 | |
| 2003 | 7 | #12,598 | under 5 | |
| 2000 | 11 | #8,626 | under 5 | |
| 1999 | 7 | #11,539 | under 5 | |
| 1997 | 6 | #12,272 | under 5 | |
| 1996 | 8 | #9,679 | under 5 | |
| 1995 | 12 | #7,101 | under 5 | |
| 1994 | 13 | #6,718 | under 5 | |
| 1993 | 9 | #8,800 | under 5 | |
| 1992 | 12 | #7,102 | under 5 | |
| 1991 | 11 | #7,478 | under 5 | |
| 1990 | 13 | #6,500 | under 5 | |
| 1989 | 14 | #5,864 | 5 | #8,017 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,487 | under 5 | |
| 1986 | 9 | #7,181 | under 5 | |
| 1985 | 7 | #8,426 | under 5 | |
| 1984 | 15 | #4,757 | under 5 | |
| 1983 | 7 | #8,126 | 5 | #6,339 |
| 1982 | 13 | #5,234 | under 5 | |
| 1981 | 14 | #4,987 | 6 | #5,556 |
| 1980 | 8 | #7,482 | under 5 | |
| 1979 | 6 | #9,109 | 7 | #4,895 |
| 1978 | 9 | #6,436 | under 5 | |
| 1977 | 8 | #6,942 | under 5 | |
| 1976 | 13 | #4,644 | under 5 | |
| 1975 | 10 | #5,556 | under 5 | |
| 1974 | 13 | #4,482 | under 5 | |
| 1973 | 11 | #4,901 | 5 | #5,174 |
| 1972 | 17 | #3,555 | under 5 | |
| 1971 | 12 | #4,559 | 8 | #3,693 |
| 1970 | 10 | #5,084 | 5 | #4,792 |
| 1969 | 14 | #3,792 | 12 | #2,561 |
| 1968 | 17 | #3,182 | 10 | #2,748 |
| 1967 | 28 | #2,277 | 12 | #2,364 |
| 1966 | 29 | #2,191 | 9 | #2,801 |
| 1965 | 34 | #1,998 | 9 | #2,799 |
| 1964 | 63 | #1,420 | 10 | #2,679 |
| 1963 | 57 | #1,478 | 12 | #2,428 |
| 1962 | 53 | #1,542 | 16 | #2,039 |
| 1961 | 58 | #1,466 | 15 | #2,154 |
| 1960 | 63 | #1,385 | 14 | #2,217 |
| 1959 | 82 | #1,175 | 15 | #2,121 |
| 1958 | 76 | #1,220 | 15 | #2,103 |
| 1957 | 125 | #909 | 13 | #2,285 |
| 1956 | 106 | #988 | 13 | #2,276 |
| 1955 | 111 | #931 | 13 | #2,224 |
| 1954 | 108 | #926 | 7 | #3,195 |
| 1953 | 106 | #914 | 23 | #1,594 |
| 1952 | 119 | #841 | 17 | #1,863 |
| 1951 | 150 | #711 | 22 | #1,601 |
| 1950 | 145 | #709 | 28 | #1,364 |
| 1949 | 145 | #702 | 30 | #1,324 |
| 1948 | 169 | #638 | 35 | #1,216 |
| 1947 | 155 | #674 | 25 | #1,483 |
| 1946 | 106 | #802 | 28 | #1,327 |
| 1945 | 100 | #750 | 31 | #1,184 |
| 1944 | 112 | #710 | 47 | #935 |
| 1943 | 116 | #714 | 32 | #1,219 |
| 1942 | 116 | #690 | 30 | #1,273 |
| 1941 | 104 | #689 | 45 | #951 |
| 1940 | 130 | #613 | 32 | #1,184 |
| 1939 | 122 | #610 | 33 | #1,122 |
| 1938 | 122 | #614 | 33 | #1,129 |
| 1937 | 128 | #596 | 41 | #988 |
| 1936 | 138 | #554 | 37 | #1,053 |
| 1935 | 117 | #603 | 42 | #980 |
| 1934 | 146 | #536 | 58 | #823 |
| 1933 | 161 | #503 | 67 | #747 |
| 1932 | 198 | #464 | 63 | #802 |
| 1931 | 229 | #429 | 67 | #759 |
| 1930 | 197 | #477 | 54 | #909 |
| 1929 | 180 | #502 | 57 | #879 |
| 1928 | 207 | #475 | 51 | #952 |
| 1927 | 223 | #466 | 69 | #800 |
| 1926 | 228 | #446 | 48 | #994 |
| 1925 | 200 | #496 | 56 | #903 |
| 1924 | 219 | #470 | 77 | #759 |
| 1923 | 217 | #466 | 69 | #803 |
| 1922 | 233 | #445 | 61 | #883 |
| 1921 | 238 | #447 | 64 | #868 |
| 1920 | 311 | #374 | 68 | #812 |
| 1919 | 234 | #427 | 78 | #717 |
| 1918 | 268 | #399 | 69 | #783 |
| 1917 | 217 | #435 | 60 | #822 |
| 1916 | 213 | #432 | 58 | #811 |
| 1915 | 211 | #410 | 75 | #672 |
| 1914 | 180 | #393 | 41 | #838 |
| 1913 | 149 | #399 | 25 | #1,001 |
| 1912 | 149 | #376 | 48 | #585 |
| 1911 | 94 | #417 | 14 | #898 |
| 1910 | 91 | #413 | 8 | #1,207 |
| 1909 | 70 | #443 | 7 | #1,167 |
| 1908 | 88 | #385 | 9 | #956 |
| 1907 | 74 | #413 | 7 | #1,108 |
| 1906 | 70 | #408 | 12 | #713 |
| 1905 | 78 | #384 | 9 | #843 |
| 1904 | 73 | #385 | 7 | #976 |
| 1903 | 57 | #420 | under 5 | |
| 1902 | 59 | #401 | 8 | #870 |
| 1901 | 59 | #383 | under 5 | |
| 1900 | 59 | #431 | under 5 | |
| 1899 | 39 | #470 | under 5 | |
| 1898 | 46 | #448 | 5 | #1,140 |
| 1897 | 37 | #470 | under 5 | |
| 1896 | 45 | #428 | under 5 | |
| 1895 | 40 | #457 | under 5 | |
| 1894 | 29 | #535 | 5 | #1,094 |
| 1893 | 33 | #465 | 6 | #922 |
| 1892 | 37 | #443 | 6 | #969 |
| 1891 | 36 | #414 | under 5 | |
| 1890 | 32 | #462 | 5 | #1,018 |
| 1889 | 37 | #399 | under 5 | |
| 1888 | 19 | #575 | under 5 | |
| 1887 | 27 | #425 | under 5 | |
| 1886 | 16 | #556 | under 5 | |
| 1885 | 12 | #629 | under 5 | |
| 1884 | 14 | #560 | under 5 | |
| 1883 | 8 | #702 | under 5 | |
| 1882 | 11 | #568 | under 5 | |
| 1881 | 8 | #630 | under 5 | |
| 1880 | 11 | #519 | under 5 |
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 Beryl a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 12,468 Americans recorded as Beryl, 81% are girls and 19% boys. In 2025 it went to 8 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Beryl: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Beryl, and how old are they?
3,220 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 26% of the 12,468 Americans ever recorded as Beryl. The median Beryl alive today is 74 years old; half are between 64 and 81.
The 2020 Census counted 6,009 people named Beryl (5,327 women and girls, 682 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,124 born in the U.S. The Census count is 46% 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 | 808 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,720 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 285 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 185 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 80 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 115 |
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 Beryl born?
The states with the most babies named Beryl are New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, with 37% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 883 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 794 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Louisiana | 561 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| California | 413 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 362 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 328 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 271 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Texas | 267 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Massachusetts | 253 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Iowa | 247 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Beryl is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Beryl is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 2.4 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 Beryl 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 12,663 babies since 1880, Beryl is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8 of their 21 babies (38%), the second most given that year.
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 Beryl
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 Beryl and names like it
- Compare Beryl and BerelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sBeryl peaked in 1920.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Beryl since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Beryl: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Beryl.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Beryl alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.