Berklee
Berklee was the 3135th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 51 babies. Its best year was 2018, when it ranked 1657th with 127 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 658 places. More babies were named Berklee in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Berkley) birch clearing (variant of Berkeley) · English, Old English
- Rank in 2025
- #3,135 girls, down 1,143 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 51girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2018127 babies
- Total since 1880
- 1,269babies recorded
What does the name Berklee mean?
Berklee is a spelling of Berkley, pronounced the same way, so it shares Berkley's meaning and origin.
Berkley is a spelling of Berkeley, an English surname taken from place names such as Berkeley in Gloucestershire and Berkley in Somerset. The place names come from Old English beorc 'birch tree' and lēah 'woodland clearing', so 'birch clearing'. The Berkeley family were barons and earls, and the city of Berkeley, California, was named after the philosopher George Berkeley. In the US it has moved from a boys' name to a mainly girls' name.
beorc (Old English, “birch tree”)lēah (Old English, “woodland clearing”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Berkeley, Berklee, Barkley.
See also: English names, names that mean tree, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Berkley', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Berkeley', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Berklee popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 27 since 2015.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,135 | 51 |
| 2020 | #1,992 | 94 |
| 2010 | #3,898 | 39 |
| 2000 | #13,389 | 6 |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Berklee, counting every spelling?
Berklee is a spelling of Berkley, a name family that ranked #656 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #3,135 for Berklee on its own. Together these spellings went to 439 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkley | 301 | #888 | 1,629 |
| Berkeley | 71 | #2,490 | 397 |
| Berklee | 51 | #3,135 | 317 |
| Burkley | 5 | #15,352 | 46 |
| Berklie | 11 | #8,954 | 43 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Berklee?
51 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Berklee (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Berklee born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 165 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Berklee.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Berklee?
About 1,200 people born in the US named Berklee are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 5 and 13. That makes Berklee a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Berklee by state
How common Berklee was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 44 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Berklee: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Berklee, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Berklee
What does Berklee mean?
Berklee is a spelling of Berkley, which means “birch clearing (variant of Berkeley)” (English, Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Berklee?
Berklee was the 3135th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 51 babies. Its best year was 2018, when it ranked 1657th with 127 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 658 places. More babies were named Berklee in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Berklee a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Berklee in the US.
Where is Berklee most popular?
In 2021–2025, Berklee was most common in Utah (0.22 per 1,000 girls), followed by Kansas and Kentucky.