Bernard

“Bear” — Germanic via French origin

Boy's name · #1362 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Bernard is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1919, when it ranked #45. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 200,000 boys since 1880, ranked #1362 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Bernard's short forms are Bernie and Barney.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,500 boys in Sweden (2025) · about 1 in 1,700 boys in Norway (2025) · about 1 in 2,200 boys in Poland (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 17 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Bernards

Bernard of Clairvaux — Burgundian saint, abbot and theologian (1090-1153)
Bernard Montgomery — British Army officer (1887–1976)
Bernard Arnault — French entrepreneur
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle — French writer and philosopher of the enlightenment (1657–1757)
Bernard Bolzano — Bohemian mathematician and priest (1781–1848)

In stories & tradition

Bernard Quatermass — The Quatermass Xperiment · Quatermass 2
Bernard Nadler — Lost
Bernard Weish — human whose existence is disputed

What Bernards become

Among 6,735 notable people named Bernard:

Political leaders appear 1.93× more often than among typical names — e.g. Bernard Cazeneuve, French prime minister.

Similar names: Bernardo · Arnold · Benton · Chester · Howard · Leonard

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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