Bartlett
Masculine · “From a pet form of Bartholomew”
Bartlett is an English surname made from a pet form of Bartholomew, and in America it became a pear and a book long before it was a boy's name. It has the solid two-beat shape of Bennett and Everett, with a crisp tt at the close.
How old is the name Bartlett?
Bartlett first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Bartlett alive today was born around 1945, making them about 80 years old. About 300 people named Bartlett are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bartlett most popular?
Bartlett peaked in 1890, reaching #994 nationally. See the whole 1890 chart.
Where it comes from
From Bartholomew to Bartlett
The story of Bartlett
Surnames like Bartlett were formed in medieval England from pet forms of saints' names, and the family came to New England early; Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire signed the Declaration of Independence. In the early nineteenth century Enoch Bartlett of Dorchester, Massachusetts, took over an estate whose orchard held an English pear, raised in Berkshire and sold in England as Williams' pear; not knowing its name, he sent it out under his own, and Americans have called it the Bartlett ever since. In 1855 John Bartlett, who ran the university bookstore in Cambridge, printed the commonplace book he had kept for customers who came in asking him to place a quotation. 'Ask John Bartlett' had been a Harvard habit, and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is still revised today.
Meaning
From a pet form of Bartholomew
Bart was the medieval short form of Bartholomew, and -lett stacks two French diminutive endings on it, -el and -et. Bartholomew itself is Aramaic, 'son of Talmai'.
How the name formed
- Bartholomew
- Bart
- Bartlet
- Bartlett
Related forms: Bartlet · Barthélemy · Bartolomeo · Bartolomé
Pronouncing Bartlett
BART-lit
Two syllables; the second is unstressed and usually sounds like -lit.
Nicknames for Bartlett
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1890
- Most boys named
- 191714 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #994reached in 1890
- Change vs 1992
- 0.0%5 in 2004, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bartlett in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bartlet in English — spelling variant
- Barthélemy in French — related form
- Bartolomeo in Italian — related form
- Bartolomé in Spanish — related form
Bartletts among us
people named Bartlett are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Bartlett sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A recognized English surname with a clear, documented origin.
- Comes with Bart as a ready short form.
- Deep New England roots, from a signer of the Declaration to the quotation book on library shelves.
- Rare as a first name, so a Bartlett is unlikely to meet another.
- Most people will think of the pear first, and a boy called Bartlett will hear pear jokes.
- Bart brings Bart Simpson with it for many people.
- As a surname-first name it will sometimes be taken for a last name on forms and lists.
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Bartlett
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Bartletts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Bartlett are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bartlett in 2025?
- Bartlett is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Bartlett with classmates?
- Bartlett will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Brian#339 · Benjamin#11 · Brandon#261 · Bryan#336 · Bruce#536 · Billy#1068 · Bobby#1097 · Bradley#403
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bartlett? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bartlett and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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