Berl
Masculine · “Little bear”
Berl is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,089 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Berl is a Yiddish bear. Ber is the word, -l is the diminutive, and the name belongs to one of the oldest pairs in Ashkenazi naming: Dov in Hebrew and Ber in Yiddish, both meaning the same animal, given together.
How old is the name Berl?
Berl first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Berl alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 500 people named Berl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Berl most popular?
Berl peaked in 1917, reaching #1396 nationally. Today it ranks #5608, 4,212 places below that high. See the whole 1917 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ber to Berl
The story of Berl
Ashkenazi naming ran on two tracks: a Hebrew name for the synagogue and a Yiddish one for daily life, and where possible the two meant the same thing. Dov Ber is the bear pair, and Berl and Berel are its affectionate forms — Berl was in ordinary use across eastern Europe. Berl Katznelson, one of the founders of Labour Zionism, carried it. The American peak in 1917 sits at the height of eastern European Jewish immigration, and the name declined sharply as the second generation chose English names; it survives in Hasidic communities.
Meaning
Little bear
From Yiddish ber, a bear, cognate with German Bär, with the diminutive -l. The reading is settled. Ber is the standard Yiddish companion name to Hebrew Dov, also a bear, in the Ashkenazi custom of pairing a Hebrew name with a vernacular one of the same meaning — the same pairing gives Tzvi with Hirsh, both deer, and Aryeh with Leib, both lion.
How the name formed
- ber
- Ber
- Berl
Related forms: בערל · Dov · Bär
Pronouncing Berl
BERL
One syllable, rhyming with pearl. Yiddish gives the r a slight trill; American speakers say it much as it looks.
Nicknames for Berl
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
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 192226 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1396reached in 1917
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%16 in 2025, from 16
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.
Berl in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- בערל in Yiddish — transliteration
- Dov in Hebrew — related form
- Bär in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Berls among us
people named Berl are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 106,755 born in 2025 was named Berl
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
Berl 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
Berl beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Berl in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, short and concrete.
- One syllable and four letters, about as compact as a name gets.
- It has a genuine and continuous Yiddish history.
- It is unfamiliar outside Jewish communities and will be spelled out.
- Berl, Berel and Beryl are close enough to be confused, and Beryl is a woman's name.
- It is strongly dated to the immigrant generations before 1930.
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What they receive
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Berl
Masculine · #5608 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Berls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Berl are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Berl in 2025?
- Berl ranks #5608 among US boy names in 2025, with 16 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Berl?
- About 1 in every 106,755 US boys born in 2025 was named Berl — 16 in all.
- Will my child share the name Berl with classmates?
- Berl will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Berl
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rolland#5608 · Llewellyn#5608 · Arlie#5608 · Gerrit#5608 · Vinson#5608 · Georgie#5608 · Wally#5608 · Webb#5608
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Berl? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Berl and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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