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 [ 2 syll. ber-nar(d), be-rna-rd ] The boy name Bernard is pronounced as BerNAARD or BERNerD †. Bernard is used chiefly in the English, French, and Italian languages, and it is derived from Germanic origins. The name is of the meaning brave as a bear. Two-element name from the elements 'ber' meaning bear ; 'hart' meaning brave, hardy. Beornheard (Germanic) and Berinhard (Germanic) are older forms of Bernard. The name could also be from the Old English Beornheard, itself from the Old English words 'beorn' which means 'man' or 'warrior', and 'heard' which means 'brave'. However, it was the Norman name, derived via French from Germanic origins, that was widely used as an English given name after the Norman Conquest, replacing the Old English cognate and appearing several times in the Domesday Book. The name was borne by Saint Bernard of Menthon (923-1008) of the Benedictine order, who founded monasteries and hospices in the Alpine passes that were eventually named after him. His work in the passes also led to him being known as the patron saint of mountaineers in Catholic custom; the name was also given to the Saint Bernard dog used in mountain rescue work. Other well-known medieval churchmen include Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), Doctor of the Church, and Bernard of Chartres (-1124), a French Neo-Platonist philosopher. The name fell out of favour in the 17th century, and was later revived by the Victorians. The name Bernadette (English and French) is the female form of Bernard. The name Bernard is used to a great extent; it has 51 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants used in English include Barn, Barnardo, Barnhard, Barnhardo, Barrett, Barry (used in Irish too), Bernarr, Bernhardo, Berny, Burnie, and Burny. Other English forms include the short form Bern (used in German too), the pet forms Barney, Barnie, Barny, Bear, and Bernie, and the variant spellings Barnard and Burnard. Foreign variants of Bernard include Bearnard (Irish and Scottish), Benek (Hungarian and Polish), Benno (German), Beno (German), Berend (Dutch and German), Bernadin, Bernal (Spanish), Bernardas (Lithuanian), Bernardel (Spanish), Bernardin (French), Bernardino (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Bernardito (Spanish), Bernardo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Bernardyn (Polish), Bernat (Catalan and Hungarian), Bernát (Hungarian), Bernd (German), Berndt (German), Bernek (Czech), Bernerd, Berngards (Latvian and Russian), Bernhard (German), Bernhardin (German), Bernhards (Latvian), Bernhardt (German), Bernis, Berno (Czech), Bernt (Scandinavian), Björn (Scandinavian and German), Nard, Nardo (Spanish), and Vernados (Greek). Bernard is a classic favorite. At present it is still somewhat popular as a baby name for boys, though not to the extent it was previously. At the modest height of its usage in 1921, 0.394% of baby boys were given the name Bernard. Its ranking then was #45. The baby name has since experienced a substantial fall in popularity, and in recent years it is of occasional use. In 2008, its usage was only 0.010% and its ranking #940. Within the group of boy names directly linked to Bernard, Barrett was the most commonly used. In 2008, it was 91% more widely used than Bernard. Baby names that sound like Bernard include Bernerd, Burnard (English), Barnard (English), Barnardo (English), Barnhard (English), Bearnard (Irish and Scottish), Bernhard (German), Bernhardt (German), Bernward (German), Barnhardo (English), Bernardo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Bernhardo (English), and Bernardito (Spanish). Details of famous persons named Bernard: † Pronunciation for Bernard: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; B as in "be (B.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)"   |
