Berenice
Feminine · “bringer of victory”
Berenice is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 9,513 girls against 11 boys since 1880.
Berenice is a Macedonian queen's name that means what it says: she who brings victory. It belonged to the royal women of Ptolemaic Egypt, and one of them left her hair in the sky, since the constellation Coma Berenices is named for a lock she is said to have dedicated to a temple and lost.
How old is the name Berenice?
Berenice first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Berenice alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 7,400 people named Berenice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Berenice most popular?
Berenice peaked in 1898, reaching #510 nationally. Today it ranks #4758, 4,248 places below that high. See the whole 1898 chart.
Where it comes from
From Pherenike to Berenice
The story of Berenice
The name comes from the Macedonian court and traveled with it into Egypt, where several Ptolemaic queens carried it and gave it to cities up and down the Red Sea coast. Greek-speaking Jewish families used it too, and a Berenice appears in Acts alongside her brother; Latin shortened that one to Bernice, which is why English has both. The full Greek form came into English use through French Berenice, and it has been given quietly in the United States since the nineteenth century.
Meaning
bringer of victory
Greek pherein, to bring or carry, joined to nike, victory. Macedonian Greek turned the ph into a b, giving Berenike where Attic Greek would have said Pherenike.
How the name formed
- Pherenike
- Berenike
- Berenice
- Bernice
Related forms: Βερενίκη · Bérénice · Berenice · Berenice · Bernice · Veronica
Pronouncing Berenice
beh-reh-NEE-seh
Spanish gives it four syllables with the stress on the third. English usually says BEH-ruh-nice or beh-ruh-NEE-see. All three are in ordinary use, so the family chooses.
Nicknames for Berenice
Moderate
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
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 2000276 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #510reached in 1898
- Change vs 2022
- −31.7%28 in 2025, from 41
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.
Berenice in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Βερενίκη in Greek — transliteration
- Bérénice in French — same name
- Berenice in Italian — same name
- Berenice in Spanish — same name
- Bernice in English — related form
- Veronica in Dutch — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, North Carolina.
Berenices among us
people named Berenice are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 57,402 born in 2025 was named Berenice
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Berenice sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Berenice is headed
Berenice is easing off slowly — about 18% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Berenice beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Berenice in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, cheerful and easy to say in three words.
- It works in Spanish, French, Italian and English with almost no adjustment.
- It carries a documented royal history and a constellation, which very few names manage.
- Three pronunciations are current in American English, and the spelling settles none of them.
- Bernice is the shorter cousin and gets substituted by people writing quickly.
- It is long for a form, and the middle of it gets dropped in speech.
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What they receive
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Berenice
Feminine · #4758 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Berenices are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,400 people named Berenice are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Berenice in 2025?
- Berenice ranks #4758 among US girl names in 2025, with 28 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Berenice?
- About 1 in every 57,402 US girls born in 2025 was named Berenice — 28 in all.
- Will my child share the name Berenice with classmates?
- Berenice will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Berenice
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Landon#4758 · Lexa#4758 · Alysia#4758 · Ixchel#4758 · Parisa#4758 · Jumana#4758 · Jadyn#4758 · Marylou#4758
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Berenice? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Berenice and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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