Berthel

UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Shining

Berthel has been given to 93 babies in the U.S. since 1913. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1919, with 9 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 68% boys, 32% girls all-time.

Babies named Berthel, 1933

1 in 400,000

Berthel over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Berthel over time

In 1933, Berthel went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19131933

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Berthel: meaning, origin, and history

Shining

Danish and German

What Berthel means

Berthel means “shining”.

Origin, language, and formation

Berthel is used in Danish and Norwegian Bokmål. Its origins include Danish and German.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Bertel, Berthold and Bertil.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Norwegian Bokmål, Berthel is pronounced /ˈbær.təl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 63 boys were recorded with the name Berthel between 1913 and 1933. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1919; its best national rank was #2,297 in 1913.

In the United States, 30 girls were recorded with the name Berthel between 1915 and 1930. Its highest annual count was 6 in 1915; its best national rank was #3,832 in 1915.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Berthel?

Berthel had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1933, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1933: 1 in 400,000; 5 of 1,999,415 births
Among boys only: 1 in 198,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1933: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 277,179 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Berthel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1933 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 277,179 children born in 1933 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Berthel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Berthels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Berthel was born before 1918 — so the typical Berthel is around 107 today.

Median birth year: 1918; About 107 years old
Biggest decade: 1910s; 65.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 100.0%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 0; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1910s — 65.1% of all recorded uses (41).

Is Berthel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1919 (9)
Years since peak: 106; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 35.2% average annual change
Best rank ever: #2,297; 1913

Spellings of Berthel

Berthel is not the most common spelling — Hershel is, with 70.3% against Berthel's 0.43%.

Hershel70.3%10,329
Ethel10.1%1,490
Bethel6.9%1,016
Bertha6.4%937
Bertie5.8%856
Berthel0.43%63

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Berthel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,297; 1913
Peak year: 1919; 9 that year
First recorded: 1913
Last recorded: 1933
All-time count: 63
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #3,832; 1915
Peak year: 1915; 6 that year
First recorded: 1915
Last recorded: 1930
All-time count: 30
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Berthel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Bereket Bernarr Bertice Berdell Berlens Beric Bertran Bernon Berklee Bernett Berger Berkay Bernest Berney Berish Berlyn Beryle Bernave Berend Berlon Berthal Berrett Bertel Bergen

Sibling names for Berthel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Lovie Hortense Lue Theda Rubye Winnifred Johnie Norine

For a brother

Casimir Edd Ora Mahlon Verne Haywood Wilber Dee

Explore around Berthel

Top names of 1919, Berthel's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1913 Boys' names starting with B