US Name Trends

Bernice

Greek Berenike, “bringing victory,” a Macedonian form of Pherenike.

1921peak year
No. 39best rank (1921)
185,533babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Bernice per year — peak 6,190▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Bernice appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in 38 different years between 1898 and 1936. Its biggest year was 1921, when 6,190 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 39 nationally. All told, 185,533 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Berenice (9,524), Berenise (645), Bernis (535) (total births since 1880)

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s1,037No. 154
1890s4,094No. 96
1900s10,010No. 61
1910s40,346No. 41
1920s55,842No. 39
1930s29,905No. 58
1940s17,032No. 121
1950s10,829No. 206
1960s6,047No. 319
1970s2,525No. 518
1980s1,489No. 866
1990s1,249No. 1175
2000s868No. 1713
2010s611No. 2508
2020s246No. 3112

Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.