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Bernadette - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Bernadette
 
 

 



[ 3 syll. ber-na-det-te, be-rnade-tte ] The girl name Bernadette is pronounced BerNahDEHT KEY. Bernadette is of Germanic origin and it is used mainly in French. The name Bernadette means 'brave as a bear'. Two-element name derived from ber and hart with the meanings 'bear' and 'brave, hardy' respectively. The name has been used primarily by Roman Catholics, especially in Ireland and Britain. It is often bestowed in tribute to Saint Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879), a peasant girl from the town of Lourdes who reported eighteen visions of the Virgin Mary; the discovery of the Lourdes healing spring is attributed to her. The name was adopted by English speakers from the 19th century. Bernadette is the feminine equivalent of the English and French Bernard.

Bernadette has 21 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of Bernadette include Beradette, Bernadin, Bernadine, Bernadotte, Bernaetta, Bernardina, and Bernessa. Other English forms include the short form Berna, the pet forms Bera and Bernie, and the spelling variants Bernadet and Bernedette.

Forms of the name used in foreign languages include the Italian Bernadetta, the Italian and Spanish Bernarda, the Italian Bernardetta, the French Bernardette, the French Bernardine, the Spanish Bernardita, and the Italian Detta. The spelling variant Bernadett (French) is another foreign form.

Bernadette is a French pet form of the Italian Bernarde.

Bernadette is rare as a baby girl name. At the peak of its usage in 1946, 0.082% of baby girls were named Bernadette. It had a ranking of #188 then. The baby name has suffered a marked drop in frequency since then, and is used only on a very modest scale now. Out of all girl names in its family, Bernadette was nevertheless the most widely used in 2007.

Baby names that sound like Bernadette include the English Bernadet, the English Bernedette, the English Bernadotte, the English Bernaetta, the English Bernetta, the Italian Brunetta, the French Bernadett, the Italian Bernadetta, the English Branda, the English Brandee, the English Brandei, the English Brandi, the English Brandie, the English Brandii, the English Brandy, the English Brandye, the English Branndie, the English and Irish Brenda, the English Brendah, the English Brendette, the English Brendie, the English Briand, the English Brinda, the English Brunette, the English Brand, and the English Brande.

KEY: English pronunciation for Bernadette: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; T as in "tea (T.IY)"


A famous person named Bernadette is Saint, Bernadette of Lourdes, born Marie Bernarde Soubirous 7 January 1844 - 16 April 1879, Lourdes, France.

Popularity Trend
for Bernadette
from 1900 to 2007Variant Popularity Chart
for Bernadette
in 2007

Meaning of Bernadette Meaning of Berna Meaning of Bera Meaning of Bernie Meaning of Bernadet Meaning of Bernedette Meaning of Bernadine Meaning of Beradette Meaning of Bernessa Meaning of Bernardina Meaning of Bernadin Meaning of Bernaetta Meaning of Bernadotte Meaning of Berenice Meaning of Bernie Meaning of Bernard