Given name & surname · also Germanic, Norman French
Bertram
“the renowned bright raven”
Bertram is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “the renowned bright raven.”
Original GermanBertran
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “the renowned bright raven.”
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Norman French and Germanic naming traditions.
How it developed
Its Germanic formation brings together berht (“bright, famous”) and hramn (“raven”).
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Bertram through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,955
- 7,955 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1923
- 228 babies
- 2025
- 9
- #8,353 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +22%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,353 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 228 in 1923. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,109 as a first name in 2020; 7,961 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Bertram’s family of names
Bertram has a short form in Bert. Bertram shares a linguistic root with Beltrán. Bertram has a related form in Bertrand.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Bertram has relatives in 14 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
15 related names in 14 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Bertránequivalent
- Beltráncognate · Spanish
- Beltramoequivalent
- Bertramshas masculine form
- BeltrãoPortuguese
- 베르트랑Korean
- ベルトランJapanese
- BeltramBreton
Show 1 moreShow fewer
People named Bertram
- Bertram BrockhouseCanadian physicist1918–2003
- Bertram RamsayRoyal Navy admiral (1883–1945)
- Bert SternAmerican photographer (1929–2013)
- Master Bertrampainter (1345–1415)
- Bertram ForerAmerican psychologist (1914-2000)
- Bertram GoodhueAmerican architect (1869–1924)
- Bertram BrackenAmerican film actor and director (1879-1952)
- Bertram ThomasCivil servant and explorer (1892–1950)
- Bertram MacdonaldBritish athlete (1902-1965)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bertram, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Buster
“pockmark, boil”
>99% boys
Elbert
“a wellborn man” · “a bright man”
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Eldridge
“a wise ruler”
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Erwin
“a friend of the wild boar”
>99% boys
Edsel
“one who is plain” · “one who is noble and bright”
>99% boys
Norris
“a man from the north”
>99% boys
Wilbert
“one who is willful; a bright man”
>99% boys
Hubert
“having a shining intellect”
>99% boys