Bernadine vs Berniece
American parents have registered 21,933 Bernadines since 1880, against 9,909 Bernieces. Bernadine is still ahead, with 6 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Bernadine Berniece
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 137 years in which either name was published, Bernadine for 119 years and Berniece for 18 years. The lead changed hands 18 times.
- 1882–1891 Bernadine ahead
- 1896–1915 Berniece ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 1918–2025 Bernadine ahead, apart from one short spell
13 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Bernadine | Berniece | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 21,933 | 9,909 |
| Most in one year | 563 | 476 |
| Babies in 2025 | 6 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 7,600 | 1,200 |
| Median age today | 71 | 80 |
| Peak year | 1924 | 1918 |
| Best rank | 277th girls | 291st girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 13,208th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1882 | 1886 |
| Girls / boys | 21,933 / 0 | 9,909 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Bernieces alive today are over 80; half the Bernadines are over 71. That is 9 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Bernadine North Dakota (3.6×), Wisconsin (3.3×), Iowa (3.2×)
- Berniece South Dakota (6.3×), Nebraska (5.8×), Iowa (5.7×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Bernadine and Berniece.