# Bernard (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/bernard/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /bəɹˈnɑɹd/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Bern, Bernie, Berner, Nard |
| Variant spellings | Barnard |
| US babies named this | 201,070 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 200,087 / 983 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 823, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Bernard, from Old French Bernard, Bernart, from Medieval Latin Bernardus, probably from Frankish *Bernhard (cognate with Old High German Bernhart, Old English Beornheard), from Proto-Germanic *Bernuharduz, equivalent to bear + -ard. Popularized by medieval European saints.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 6 | 7,783 |
| 1975 | 10 | 5,557 |
| 1976 | 8 | 6,677 |
| 1977 | 7 | 7,624 |
| 1978 | 10 | 5,994 |
| 1979 | 5 | 10,359 |
| 1981 | 8 | 7,465 |
| 1982 | 6 | 9,338 |
| 1983 | 9 | 6,761 |
| 1984 | 8 | 7,470 |
| 1985 | 7 | 8,428 |
| 1986 | 7 | 8,618 |
| 1987 | 6 | 9,965 |
| 1988 | 5 | 12,006 |
| 1993 | 8 | 9,659 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 168 | 1,102 |
| 2012 | 150 | 1,195 |
| 2013 | 168 | 1,100 |
| 2014 | 158 | 1,179 |
| 2015 | 151 | 1,216 |
| 2016 | 163 | 1,169 |
| 2017 | 160 | 1,171 |
| 2018 | 168 | 1,142 |
| 2019 | 150 | 1,251 |
| 2020 | 148 | 1,250 |
| 2021 | 143 | 1,308 |
| 2022 | 148 | 1,290 |
| 2023 | 122 | 1,473 |
| 2024 | 147 | 1,318 |
| 2025 | 137 | 1,362 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 1,251 |
| 2012 | 14 | 1,669 |
| 2013 | 30 | 954 |
| 2014 | 28 | 1,012 |
| 2015 | 30 | 977 |
| 2016 | 31 | 946 |
| 2017 | 31 | 968 |
| 2018 | 25 | 1,097 |
| 2019 | 37 | 825 |
| 2020 | 33 | 878 |
| 2021 | 41 | 790 |
| 2022 | 43 | 758 |
| 2023 | 39 | 827 |
| 2024 | 62 | 613 |
| 2025 | 42 | 782 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Bernat
- Chinese: 伯納德 /伯纳德, 伯爾納鐸 /伯尔纳铎
- Czech: Bernard
- Danish: Bernhard, Bernt
- Dutch: Bernaart
- Esperanto: Bernardo
- French: Bernard
- Georgian: ბერნარდი
- German: Bernhard, Bernd
- Greek: Βερνάρδος
- Hungarian: Bernát
- Icelandic: Bernharður
- Irish: Bearnárd
- Italian: Bernardo
- Latin: Bernardus
- Norwegian: Bernhard, Bernt
- Polish: Bernard
- Portuguese: Bernardo
- Russian: Берна́рд
- Spanish: Bernardo

## People named Bernard

- Bernard of Clairvaux, Burgundian saint, abbot and theologian (1090–1153)
- Bernard Montgomery, British Army officer (1887–1976)
- Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French writer and philosopher of the enlightenment (1657–1757)
- Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physician (1887–1971)
- Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and priest (1781–1848)
- Bernard Katz, German-British biophysicist (1911–2003)
- Bernard Cazeneuve, French prime minister
- Bernard Madoff, American fraudster and financier (1938–2021)
- Bernard Hill, British actor (1944-2024)
- Bernard Lewis, British-American historian (1916–2018)
- Bernard Hinault, French cyclist
- Bernard Malamud, American author (1914–1986)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.