Bernadette - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. ber-na-det-te, be-rnade-tte ] The girl name Bernadette is pronounced BerNahDEHT ^KEY. Bernadette is of Germanic origin. It is used mainly in English and 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, French, and Italian Bernard.

Bernadette is a widely used name; it has 34 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Bena (used in Polish too), Beradette, Bernadin, Bernadine, Bernadotte, Bernaetta, Bernardina (used in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish too), Bernessa, Berneta, Bernetta, Bernette (used in French too), Berni, Bernita, Berny, Dina (used in Polish, Greek, German, and Scottish too), and Ina (used in Irish, Polish, Dutch, Japanese, German, and Scandinavian too). Other English forms include the short form Berna, the pet forms Bera and Bernie, and the spelling variants Bernadet and Bernedette.

Forms of Bernadette used in foreign languages include the Italian Bernadetta, the Italian, Polish, and Spanish Bernarda, the Italian Bernardetta, the French Bernardette, the French Bernardine, the Spanish Bernardita, the German Bernharda, the German Bernhardina, the German Bernhardine, the Italian Detta, and the French Nadette. The spelling variant Bernadett (French) is another foreign form.

Bernadette is an English and 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 2008.

Baby names that sound like Bernadette include the English Bernadet, the English Bernedette, the English Bernadotte, the English Bernaetta, the English Berneta, the English Bernetta, the English Bernita, the Italian Brunetta, the French Bernadett, the Italian Bernadetta, the English and French Bernette, the English Branda, the English Brandee, the English Brandei, the English Brandi, the English Brandie, the English Brandii, the English Brandy, the English Brandye, and the English Branndie.

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