How common is the surname Bear?

8,252 people in the United States had the surname Bear in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,415 Americans. It ranked 4,308th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Bear?

In the 2010 Census, 78% of people named Bear identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as American Indian and Alaska Native.

Who is the most famous person named Bear?

Greg Bear, American writer best known for science fiction (1951–2022), followed by Emily Bear.

Where is the surname Bear most common?

Wikidata records people named Bear in the United States.

Is the surname Bear getting more or less common?

More common. 7,672 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,252 in 2010, up 7.6%.

Is Bear also a first name?

Yes. Bear is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Bear

A surname, carried by 8,252 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex B600 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bear is more common than 97.3% of them.

Origin

* As an English surname, related to bear * As a German surname, spelling variant of Baer and Bahr

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,252 people named Bear in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 37,415 Americans. That is up 7.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,672.

#4,308

rank among US surnames

8,252

people in 2010

2.8

per 100,000 Americans

+7.6%

change since 2000 (was #4,278)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,299	Bracken	8,265	37,356
#4,300	Santacruz	8,264	37,360
#4,302	Withrow	8,262	37,369
#4,303	True	8,261	37,374
#4,304	Furr	8,260	37,378
#4,305	Dell	8,255	37,401
#4,307	Chism	8,253	37,410

Who is named Bear

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

78% of people named Bear identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as American Indian and Alaska Native and 4.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 78%
American Indian and Alaska Native 11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.9%
Two or more races 2.8%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.9%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Bears

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Greg Bear
American writer best known for science fiction (1951–2022)
Emily Bear
American composer and pianist, born 2001

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Bear

Bear has the Soundex code B600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B600.

Questions

Where does the surname Bear come from?: * As an English surname, related to bear * As a German surname, spelling variant of Baer and Bahr
How common is the surname Bear?: 8,252 people in the United States had the surname Bear in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 37,415 Americans. It ranked 4,308th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Bear?: In the 2010 Census, 78% of people named Bear identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as American Indian and Alaska Native.
Who is the most famous person named Bear?: Greg Bear, American writer best known for science fiction (1951–2022), followed by Emily Bear.
Where is the surname Bear most common?: Wikidata records people named Bear in the United States.
Is the surname Bear getting more or less common?: More common. 7,672 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,252 in 2010, up 7.6%.
Is Bear also a first name?: Yes. Bear is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.