Bernard

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Bernard

Gender: Masculine
Language: English, French
Etymology:
Bernard is from an Old English name, Beornheard, which means “Brave as a Bear,” or “Strength of the Bear” from “beorn” (bear), and “heard (hardy, brave, strong).

History:
Beornheard, the Old English name, was replaced by the Norman Bernard after the Norman Invasion of 1066. Although fairly common since the 12th century, Bernard suffered a decline during the Reformation. It was revived in the 19th century, but has again fell into disfavor.

Pronunciation: burn-ard.

Diminutives:
English: Bernie, Barney.
German: Bernd, Berndt, Berne.

Alternates: Bamard, Barend, Bamey, Barnard, Barney, Barret, Barrett, Barrat, Barratt, Barrit, Bernaert, Bernadyn, Bernart, Bernon, Burnard, Burnell.
Basque: Benat.
Breton: Bernez.
Catalan: Bernat.
Czech: Bern, Beran.
Dutch: Berend.
French: Beneard, Bernard, Besnard, Benard.
German: Bernhard, Bernhardt, Bemelle, Bemot, Benat, Berinhard.
Hawaiian: Pelenalako.
Irish: Beamard, Bearnard.
Italian: Bernando, Bernardo.
Latin: Bernardus.
Polish: Biernat, Biernacki, Bernadzki.
Portuguese: Bernandino.
Spanish: Bernandino, Bernardino, Bernando, Bernardo, Barnardo.

Feminine: Bernarda.

See also: Barney, Barnard.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Bernard de Ventadour (Bernart de Vetnadorn) (?-1195)
Provençal poet.
Bernardo Daddi (1290-1355)
Italian painter.
Bernat Metge (1350-1413)
Catalan poet.
Bernardo Rossellino (1409-1464)
Italian sculptor.
Bernard van Orley (Bernaert, Barend) (1492-1542)
Flemish painter.
Bernardo Tasso (1493-1569)
Italian poet.
Bernard Palissy (1509-1590)
French ceramic artist.
Bernardo de Balbuena (1568-1627)
Puerto Rican poet.
Bernard de Mandeville (1670-1733)
Dutch writer.
Bernardo Bellotto (1720-1780)
Italian painter.
Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789-1862)
Danish novelist.
Bernardo Guimarães (1825-1884)
Brazilian author.
Bernhard Gillam (1856-1896)
American cartoonist.
Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957)
American architect.
Bernhard Stavenhagen (1862-1914)
German pianist.
Bernard Patrick O’Dowd (1866-1953)
Australian poet.
Bernhard Kellermann (1879-1951)
German novelist.
Bernard de Voto (1897-1955)
American novelist.
Bernard Malamud (1914-1986)
American novelist.
Bernard Binlin Dadié (1916-)
Ivorian poet.
Bernardo Santareno (1924-1980)
Portuguese playwright.
Bernard Kops (1926-)
British playwright.
Bernard Haitink (1929-)
Dutch conductor.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Bernard de Chartres (?-1130)
French philosopher.
Bernard de Montfaucon (1655-1741)
French scholar.
Bernhard ten Brink (1841-1892)
German scholar.
Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923)
British philosopher.
Bernard Berenson (1865-1959)
American art critic.
Bernhard Häring (1912-1998)
German theologian.

Miscellaneous:
Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (1604-1639)
Military figure of the Thirty Years’ War.
Bernard Smith (1630-1708)
German-English organ builder.
Bernard J. Wefers, Jr. (1873-1957)
American Olympic athlete.
Bernard Law Montgomery (1887-1976)
British commander of WWII.
Bernd Rosemeyer (1909-1938)
German automobile racer.
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1911-)
WWII military figure.

Political Figures:
Bernardo Tanucci (1698-1783)
Italian statesman (of Naples and Sicily).
Bernardo O’Higgins (1776-1842)
Ruler of Chile.
Bernhard, Fürst von Bülow (1849-1929)
Prime Minister of Prussia.
Bernard Baruch (1870-1965)
American presidential advisor.
Baron Bernard Cyril Freyberg (1889-1963)
Governor-General of New Zealand.

Religious Figures:
Saint Bernard de Menthon (San Bernardino de Mentone) (?-1081)
Established a series of Alpine hospices. The rescue dogs they used are named in his honor. Patron saint of mountain climbers.
Saint Bernard de Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Founder of the Abbey at Clairvaux.

Scientists:
Bernard le Bovier, Sieur de Fontenelle (1657-1757)
French scientist.
Bernard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770)
German anatomist.
Bernard Forest de Belidor (1698-1761)
Spanish-French engineer.
Bernard de Jussieu (1699-1777)
French botanist.
Bernard Courtois (1777-1838)
French chemist. Discovered iodine.
Bernhard Bolzano (1781-1848)
Bohemian mathematician.
Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866)
German mathematician.
Bernhard Lauritz Frederik Bang (1848-1932)
Danish veterinarian.
Bernard Ogilvie Dodge (1872-1960)
American botanist.
Bernhard Voldemar Schmidt (1879-1935)
German inventor.
Bernardo Alberto Houssay (1887-1971)
Argentine physiologist. Co-winner of the 1947 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Bernard Lyot (1897-1952)
French astronomer.
Bern Dibner (1897-1988)
American engineer.
Sir Bernard Katz (1911-)
German-British physiologist. Co-winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Sir Bernard Lovell (1913-)
British astronomer.

Singers and Entertainers:
Bernhard Minetti (1905-1998)
German actor.
Bernard Miles (1907-1991)
British actor.
Bernardo Bertolucci (1940-)
Italian filmmaker.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.127 % named Bernard
0.010 % named Bernardo
0.009 % named Barney
0.008 % named Bernie
0.005 % named Barrett

Popularity of Bernard:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1850: 89th most popular.
1875: 102nd most popular.
1900-1910: 71st most popular.
1910-1920: 50th most popular.
1920-1930: 47th most popular.
1930-1940: 64th most popular.
1940-1950: 102nd most popular.
1950-1960: 131st most popular.
1960-1970: 175th most popular.
1970-1980: 238th most popular.
1980-1990: 324th most popular.
1990: 433rd most popular.
1991: 410th most popular.
1992: 426th most popular.
1993: 439th most popular.
1994: 500th most popular.
1995: 501st most popular.
1996: 568th most popular.
1997: 573rd most popular.
1998: 643rd most popular.
1999: 658th most popular.
2000: 661st most popular.
2001: 694th most popular.
2002: 760th most popular.
2003: 791st most popular.

In France...
1900: 55th most popular.
1910: 40th most popular.
1920: 27th most popular.
1930: 16th most popular.
1940: 7th most popular.
1950: 5th most popular.
1960: 15th most popular.
1970: 65th most popular.
1980: 186th most popular.
1982: 198th most popular.
1990-2000: N/A

Popularity of Bernardo:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 795th most popular.
1910-1920: 816th most popular.
1920-1930: 747th most popular.
1930-1940: 764th most popular.
1940-1950: 803rd most popular.
1950-1960: 764th most popular.
1960-1970: 748th most popular.
1970-1980: 745th most popular.
1980-1990: 802nd most popular.
1990-2000: 667th most popular.
1990: 687th most popular.
1991: 685th most popular.
1992: 761st most popular.
1993: 667th most popular.
1994: 636th most popular.
1995: 666th most popular.
1996: 722nd most popular.
1997: 759th most popular.
1998: 794th most popular.
1999: 873rd most popular.
2000: 882nd most popular.
2001: 864th most popular.
2002: 851st most popular.
2003: 970th most popular.

Popularity of Bernie:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 569th most popular.
1910-1920: 752nd most popular.
1920-1930: 747th most popular.
1930-1940: 596th most popular.
1940-1950: 561st most popular.
1950-1960: 667th most popular.
1960-1970: 760th most popular.
1970-2000: N/A

Popularity of Barrett:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1960: N/A
1960-1970: 858th most popular.
1970-1980: 714th most popular.
1980-1990: 637th most popular.
1990: 730th most popular.
1991: 807th most popular.
1992: 913th most popular.
1993: 843rd most popular.
1994: 912th most popular.
1995: 896th most popular.
1996: 940th most popular.
1997: 949th most popular.
1998: N/A
1999: 890th most popular.
2000: N/A
2001: 879th most popular.
2002: 922nd most popular.

Popularity of Bernhard:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 673rd most popular.
1910-2000: N/A