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    The surname Bernard

    A patronymic surname, carried by 38,512 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /bəɹˈnɑɹd/ 2 syllables Soundex B656 Also a first name

    Bernard: #899 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Bernard #899, 38,512 people Bernard: #899 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Bernard #899, 38,512 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bernard is more common than 99.4% of them.

    Origin

    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.

    Bernard is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 38,512 people named Bernard in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,017 Americans. That is up 5.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 36,546.

    #899
    rank among US surnames
    38,512
    people in 2010
    13
    per 100,000 Americans
    +5.4%
    change since 2000 (was #864)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #890Dunlap39,0637,904
    #891Gould38,9247,932
    #892Duffy38,8357,950
    #893Vaughan38,8307,951
    #894Herring38,7337,971
    #895McKay38,6817,982
    #896Espinosa38,6677,985

    Who is named Bernard

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

    63% of people named Bernard identified as white (not Hispanic), 26% as Black (not Hispanic) and 7.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 63%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 26%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 7.4%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Bernards

    13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Carlos Bernard
      American actor, born 1962
    • Susan Bernard
      American actress (1948-2019)
    • Crystal Bernard
      American singer-songwriter and actress, born 1961
    • Hilda Bernard
      Argentine actress (1920–2022)
    • Dorothy Bernard
      Actress (1890-1955)
    • Molly Bernard
      American actress, born 1988
    • Jason Bernard
      American actor (1938–1996)
    • Harry Bernard
      American actor (1878-1940)
    • Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet
      British colonial administrator (1712-1779)
    • Alfred Aloysous Bernard
      American singer (1888–1949)
    • Ed Bernard
      American actor, 1939–2026
    • Jessie Bernard
      American sociologist and feminist scholar (1903–1996)

    Notable Bernards come mostly from the United States (11), Argentina (1) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Bernard

    Bernard has the Soundex code B656, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B656.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Bernard come from?
    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…
    How common is the surname Bernard?
    38,512 people in the United States had the surname Bernard in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,017 Americans. It ranked 899th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Bernard?
    In the 2010 Census, 63% of people named Bernard identified as white (not Hispanic), and 26% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Bernard?
    Carlos Bernard, American actor, followed by Susan Bernard.
    Where is the surname Bernard most common?
    Wikidata records people named Bernard in the United States, Argentina and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
    How do you pronounce Bernard?
    Bernard is /bəɹˈnɑɹd/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Bernard?
    Bernard is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Bernard getting more or less common?
    More common. 36,546 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 38,512 in 2010, up 5.4%.
    What are other spellings of Bernard?
    Barnard.
    Is Bernard also a first name?
    Yes. Bernard 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.