How common is the surname Bernhard?

3,735 people in the United States had the surname Bernhard in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 82,663 Americans. It ranked 8,775th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Bernhard?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Bernhard identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Bernhard?

Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and novelist (1931–1989), followed by Sandra Bernhard.

Where is the surname Bernhard most common?

Wikidata records people named Bernhard in the United States and Austria.

Is the surname Bernhard getting more or less common?

More common. 3,575 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,735 in 2010, up 4.5%.

Is Bernhard also a first name?

Yes. Bernhard 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 Bernhard

A surname, carried by 3,735 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex B656 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). Bernhard is more common than 94.6% of them.

Origin

German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Jewish surname, from an old Germanic name composed of *bernuz (“bear”) + *harduz (“hardy, brave”). Compare Bernard, Barnard, Barnhard, Barnhart, Benhardt.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 3,735 people named Bernhard in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 82,663 Americans. That is up 4.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,575.

#8,775

rank among US surnames

3,735

people in 2010

1.3

per 100,000 Americans

+4.5%

change since 2000 (was #8,488)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#8,770	Hine	3,738	82,596
#8,772	Partain	3,737	82,619
#8,773	Peer	3,736	82,641
#8,775	Hosey	3,735	82,663
#8,780	Wille	3,734	82,685
#8,784	Lorenzen	3,733	82,707

Who is named Bernhard

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

94% of people named Bernhard identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.4% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Bernhards

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Thomas Bernhard
Austrian playwright and novelist (1931–1989)
Sandra Bernhard
American actress and comedian (born 1955)
Ruth Bernhard
American photographer (1905-2006)

Notable Bernhards come mostly from the United States (2) and Austria (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Bernhard

Bernhard 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 Bernhard come from?: German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Jewish surname, from an old Germanic name composed of *bernuz (“bear”) + *harduz (“hardy, brave”). Compare Bernard, Barnard, Barnhard, Barnhart, Benhardt.
How common is the surname Bernhard?: 3,735 people in the United States had the surname Bernhard in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 82,663 Americans. It ranked 8,775th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Bernhard?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Bernhard identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Bernhard?: Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and novelist (1931–1989), followed by Sandra Bernhard.
Where is the surname Bernhard most common?: Wikidata records people named Bernhard in the United States and Austria.
Is the surname Bernhard getting more or less common?: More common. 3,575 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,735 in 2010, up 4.5%.
Is Bernhard also a first name?: Yes. Bernhard 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.