Bartholome
From the Aramaic meaning "son of the furrow", a surname later bestowed as a given name.
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Bartholome. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bartholome today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bartholome births was 1953 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bartholome. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Bartholome is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bartholomes were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bartholome. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
1953
8 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1956 SSA rank
#3,987
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Bartholome: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Bartholome by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bartholome during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 23 | 0 | 23 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Bartholome
The name Bartholome is derived from the Aramaic bar-Talmay, meaning "son of the plowed land" or "son of the furrows". It is the Aramaic form of the Greek name Bartholomaios, which is a patronymic surname meaning "son of Tolmais". The name gained popularity during the early Christian era, associated with one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, Bartholomew.
The earliest known individual with the name Bartholome was Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. He is believed to have been born in the 1st century AD in Cana, Galilee, and to have preached the Gospel in various regions, including India and Armenia, before being martyred in Albanopolis, Armenia, in the 1st century AD.
Another notable figure in history with the name Bartholome was Bartholome de Las Casas (1484-1566), a Spanish Dominican friar who was a pioneer in advocating for the rights of Native Americans in the Spanish colonies. He is considered one of the earliest advocates for the universal rights of humans.
In the 16th century, Bartholome Spranger (1546-1625) was a Flemish painter and etcher, known for his depictions of mythological subjects and portraits of prominent figures of his time, including the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.
Bartholome Esteban Murillo (1617-1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter who is considered one of the most influential artists of the Spanish Golden Age. His works, characterized by their naturalistic and emotional depictions of religious themes, had a significant impact on the development of Spanish art.
Bartholome de Medina (1528-1580) was a Spanish Dominican theologian and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of moral theology and the development of the theory of probabilism, which provided guidelines for decision-making in situations of moral uncertainty.
People
Bartholome + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bartholome as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bartholome: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bartholome?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bartholome going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Bartholome a common name?
We classify Bartholome as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bartholome most popular?
The single biggest year for Bartholome was 1953, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bartholome is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bartholome in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bartholome a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bartholome in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bartholome still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bartholome in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bartholome can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Bartholome?
Find out how many Americans are named Bartholome on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.