Bernard
An Old Germanic name joining bern, bear, with hard, meaning brave or hardy. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux spread it through medieval Europe.
Bernard in 2025
Bernard was given to 137 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 2,857th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 24,200 babies born.
The history of Bernard
Bernard reached its highest point in 1924, when 4,524 babies were given the name, ranking 107th that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 201,070 babies have been named Bernard. Half of them were born before 1937, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Bernard by decade
| Decade | Babies named Bernard | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,616 | 213 |
| 1890s | 2,320 | 240 |
| 1900s | 3,301 | 224 |
| 1910s | 25,748 | 108 |
| 1920s | 42,661 | 107 |
| 1930s | 30,685 | 124 |
| 1940s | 26,531 | 186 |
| 1950s | 25,992 | 235 |
| 1960s | 17,598 | 325 |
| 1970s | 9,183 | 459 |
| 1980s | 6,563 | 593 |
| 1990s | 4,167 | 865 |
| 2000s | 2,252 | 1,468 |
| 2010s | 1,608 | 2,442 |
| 2020s | 845 | 2,674 |
Where Bernard is heading
Bernard has fallen 9% over the past decade, from 151 babies in 2015 to 137 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1924 peak — Bernard is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Bernard
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Bernard.