# Berenice (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/berenice/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | “bringer of victory”, “to bear”, “to carry”, “to bring”, “victory” |
| Pronunciation | /ˌbɛɹəˈniːs/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 9,524 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 11 / 9,513 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 70, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Βερενῑ́κη (Berenī́kē, “bringer of victory”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Macedonian (compare the native word Φερενῑ́κη (Pherenī́kē)), from φέρω (phérō, “to bear, to carry, to bring”) + νῑ́κη (nī́kē, “victory”). Doublet of Veronica.

## What it means

Berenice is grouped under bear and victory.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 109 | 1,843 |
| 2012 | 129 | 1,653 |
| 2013 | 102 | 1,941 |
| 2014 | 73 | 2,473 |
| 2015 | 59 | 2,935 |
| 2016 | 89 | 2,172 |
| 2017 | 91 | 2,112 |
| 2018 | 72 | 2,459 |
| 2019 | 79 | 2,290 |
| 2020 | 63 | 2,662 |
| 2021 | 47 | 3,350 |
| 2022 | 41 | 3,713 |
| 2023 | 43 | 3,599 |
| 2024 | 40 | 3,769 |
| 2025 | 28 | 4,784 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 6 | 7,727 |
| 1995 | 5 | 9,006 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 3 | 3,900 |
| 2001 | 4 | 3,262 |
| 2006 | 7 | 2,781 |
| 2007 | 6 | 3,218 |
| 2009 | 5 | 3,936 |
| 2010 | 7 | 3,156 |
| 2011 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,681 |
| 2013 | 4 | 4,739 |
| 2015 | 8 | 2,945 |
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2017 | 3 | 5,765 |
| 2018 | 6 | 3,518 |
| 2019 | 5 | 4,001 |

## In other languages

- French: Bérénice
- Irish: Beirnicé
- Italian: Berenice
- Polish: Berenika
- Russian: Верони́ка

## People named Berenice

- Bérénice Bejo, Argentine-born French actress
- Berenice Abbott, American photographer (1898-1991)
- Bérénice Marlohe, French actress
- Maria Berenice Dias, Brazilian judge
- María Berenice Duque, Colombian Catholic nun
- Saint Veronica, Christian saint
- Alix Bénézech, French actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.