Given name & surname
Berit
“a glorious woman”
Berit is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a glorious woman.”
Original GermanBrigitte
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a glorious woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In Scandinavian use, Berit is used as a variant of Birgir.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1958. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Berit is a variant of Bridget. The history of Bridget gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Bridget is associated with the goddess of fire, wisdom, and poetry.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Berit through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 677
- 0 boys · 677 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #12,115 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −19%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,115 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 19.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 25 in 2006. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 976 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Berit’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Berit shares a linguistic root with Biret. Berit has a related form in Bridget. In Norwegian usage, Berit has a conventional equivalent in the German form Brigitte.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Berit has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 28
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Brittavariant · German
- Birgitvariant · German, Swedish
- Brittvariant · German
- Berritvariant · German
- Berrithvariant · German
- Berithvariant · German
- Bridgetvariant
- Berettavariant
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- Beretvariant
- Birgittavariant · Swedish, Danish
- Birgittevariant · Danish
- Byrettevariant
- Byrettavariant
- Byrettvariant
- Byretevariant
- Byretavariant
- Byretvariant
- Birettevariant
- Birettavariant
- Birettvariant
- Biretevariant
- Biretavariant
- Biretvariant · Northern Sami
- Berettevariant
- Berettvariant
- Beretevariant
- Beretavariant
- BirGIrvariant
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Berit
- Bibi AnderssonSwedish actress (1935–2019)
- Berit MørdreNorwegian cross-country skier (1940-2016)
- Berit Aunlicross-country skierborn 1956
- Berit ÅsNorwegian politician (1928–2024)
- Berit Reiss-AndersenNorwegian lawyer, writer and politicianborn 1954
- Berit LindholmSwedish actor and singer (1934-2023)
- Berit BerthelsenNorwegian sprinter and long jumper (1944–2022)
- Berit NesheimNorwegian filmmakerborn 1945
- Berit AndnorSwedish politician, minister for social affairs and county governorborn 1954
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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