Fun Facts About the Name Byrd
- 962 babies named Byrd: U.S. records list 962 babies given the name Byrd from 1880 through 2025. Even 253 girls received the name Byrd - about 1 girl for every 3 boys.
What Does the Name Byrd Mean?
Byrd is an English surname, also used as a given name, that is a variant spelling of Bird. It comes from Middle English brid and Old English bridd, meaning a young bird or nestling. In Old English the general word for a bird was fugol (the source of modern fowl); bridd referred specifically to a nestling. During the Middle English period bird widened to cover birds of any age, and the modern spelling settled into bird.
As a surname it most often began either as a nickname, given to a person thought to resemble a bird or to be small and quick, or as an occupational name for a fowler, someone who caught birds for food or trade. The Byrd form, using y in place of i, is one of several spellings common in English surnames. Symbolic readings of the bird - as a sign of freedom or a messenger, for instance - are later interpretations added to the name, not part of its literal etymology.
Byrd Name History & Origins
Surnames spelled Bird and Byrd are found in English records from the Middle Ages onward, and the two spellings have long coexisted. A notable early bearer of the surname was William Byrd (about 1540 - 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance whose sacred and keyboard music is still performed. The spelling was carried to North America, where the Byrd family of Virginia became prominent: William Byrd I established a plantation on the James River in the late 1600s, and his son William Byrd II helped lay out the city of Richmond in the 1730s. In the United States, Richard E. Byrd (1888 - 1957), the naval officer and polar aviator, is the best-known bearer of the surname.
Byrd as a first name is uncommon and appears mainly in the United States, where it is generally a transferred use of the family name, often given to carry a mother's or other relative's surname. It is used for both boys and girls. Its use as a given name follows the broader American practice of turning surnames into first names, rather than growing out of the word's original meaning.
How Popular is the Name Byrd?
Byrd recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1919. Its best rank was #562 in 1883.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | #3,873 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1929 | #4,128 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #3,614 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1922 | #4,063 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #3,886 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1918 | #4,920 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1917 | #3,769 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1915 | #2,273 | 13 | 0.0013% |
| 1913 | #1,786 | 12 | 0.0019% |
| 1910 | #2,460 | 5 | 0.0013% |
| 1908 | #2,158 | 5 | 0.0015% |
| 1905 | #1,316 | 9 | 0.0031% |
| 1903 | #1,331 | 8 | 0.0031% |
| 1902 | #1,822 | 5 | 0.0019% |
| 1900 | #1,967 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1899 | #1,291 | 7 | 0.0030% |
| 1898 | #1,273 | 8 | 0.0031% |
| 1897 | #1,183 | 8 | 0.0034% |
| 1896 | #1,616 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1895 | #1,061 | 10 | 0.0043% |
| 1894 | #789 | 15 | 0.0067% |
| 1893 | #743 | 16 | 0.0075% |
| 1891 | #899 | 10 | 0.0054% |
| 1890 | #878 | 10 | 0.0053% |
| 1889 | #761 | 12 | 0.0067% |
| 1888 | #1,153 | 6 | 0.0034% |
| 1886 | #844 | 8 | 0.0055% |
| 1884 | #864 | 7 | 0.0054% |
| 1883 | #562 | 12 | 0.0107% |
| 1881 | #845 | 5 | 0.0054% |
| 1880 | #753 | 6 | 0.0066% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | #4,115 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1961 | #4,147 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1960 | #3,126 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #3,320 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #2,996 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #3,473 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #3,806 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #2,385 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1950 | #3,369 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #2,823 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1948 | #3,037 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1947 | #2,685 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1946 | #2,727 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1945 | #2,589 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1944 | #2,896 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #1,991 | 14 | 0.0010% |
| 1942 | #2,279 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1941 | #2,684 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #3,516 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #2,476 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1938 | #2,903 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1937 | #2,100 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1936 | #2,077 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1935 | #1,942 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1934 | #1,731 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1933 | #3,044 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #2,481 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1931 | #2,682 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1930 | #1,763 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1929 | #2,221 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1928 | #1,658 | 21 | 0.0019% |
| 1927 | #2,053 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1926 | #1,616 | 22 | 0.0020% |
| 1925 | #2,105 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1924 | #2,247 | 14 | 0.0012% |
| 1923 | #1,762 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1922 | #1,552 | 24 | 0.0022% |
| 1921 | #1,991 | 17 | 0.0015% |
| 1920 | #1,758 | 20 | 0.0019% |
| 1919 | #1,415 | 26 | 0.0027% |
| 1918 | #1,606 | 22 | 0.0022% |
| 1917 | #2,443 | 11 | 0.0012% |
| 1916 | #2,403 | 11 | 0.0012% |
| 1915 | #1,613 | 19 | 0.0022% |
| 1914 | #1,557 | 16 | 0.0024% |
| 1913 | #1,963 | 9 | 0.0018% |
| 1912 | #2,597 | 5 | 0.0012% |
| 1911 | #1,776 | 5 | 0.0022% |
| 1910 | #1,442 | 6 | 0.0031% |
| 1909 | #1,094 | 8 | 0.0049% |
| 1905 | #1,115 | 6 | 0.0045% |
| 1904 | #1,233 | 5 | 0.0039% |
| 1903 | #1,152 | 5 | 0.0042% |
| 1900 | #979 | 8 | 0.0053% |
| 1896 | #999 | 6 | 0.0050% |
| 1895 | #695 | 10 | 0.0085% |
| 1894 | #796 | 8 | 0.0069% |
| 1892 | #872 | 7 | 0.0057% |
| 1891 | #777 | 7 | 0.0069% |
| 1890 | #1,024 | 5 | 0.0045% |
| 1889 | #993 | 5 | 0.0045% |
| 1887 | #759 | 7 | 0.0069% |
| 1886 | #774 | 7 | 0.0063% |
| 1885 | #612 | 10 | 0.0093% |
| 1884 | #711 | 8 | 0.0070% |
| 1883 | #735 | 7 | 0.0067% |
| 1882 | #712 | 8 | 0.0070% |
| 1881 | #605 | 9 | 0.0089% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Byrd Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Byrd's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Byrd's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.