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Home › Baby Names Directory › Bertil

Bertil

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Bertil

Pronounced BAIR-til /ˈbɛr.tɪl/Medium

Meaning: Bertil is a Swedish given name, a short form of Berthold or Bert, from the Germanic element berht, 'bright' or 'famous'. Long established in Sweden, it was borne by a twentieth-century Swedish prince.Medium

In 30 seconds: Bertil is a Swedish name from the Germanic root for 'bright', a short form of Berthold. In US records it belongs to the Swedish immigrant community of the early 1900s.
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Origin MediumSwedish, Germanic
MeaningBertil is a Swedish given name, a short form of Berthold or Bert, from the Germanic element berht, 'bright' or 'famous'. Long established in Sweden, it was borne by a twentieth-century Swedish prince.
U.S. rank (1952)#3792 ↘ Falling
1952 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1914
Total births (all-time)≈ 482

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 191419121952

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Bertil is a Swedish diminutive of Berthold, from the Germanic berht, 'bright' or 'famous'. It is a long-standing Scandinavian name that reached American records mainly through Swedish immigrant families in the early twentieth century.

In the United States it stayed tied to that community, appearing at a few dozen boys a year with a faint peak around 1914 before assimilation reduced such heritage names. Bertil remains far more familiar in Sweden, where it has been borne by royalty, than in America.

Did you know? Bertil was the name of a popular Swedish prince, Prince Bertil (1912-1997), which kept the name a steady favourite in Sweden through the twentieth century.
Overall data confidence 75%
References - Bertil — Germanic berht 'bright'; Swedish diminutive of Berthold

Variations

BertholdBertelBertBertils

Nicknames

BertBertie

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Bertil…

Bert— the short root shared with Bertil
Axel— another Scandinavian name of the immigrant era
Nils— a comparable Swedish given name
Ancil— another Germanic name
Bernard— a similarly popular pick

Explore names like Bertil

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Bertil mean?

Bertil is a Swedish name, a short form of Berthold, from a Germanic root meaning 'bright' or 'famous'.

How do you pronounce Bertil?

It's said BAIR-til /ˈbɛr.tɪl/ - two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Bertil a boy or girl name?

Bertil is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Bertil?

Bertil has always been rare in the United States, a Swedish heritage name far more common in Sweden.

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