Bernard
Germanic bern “bear” plus hard “brave.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
Bernard appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in 65 different years between 1880 and 1947. Its biggest year was 1924, when 4,505 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 46 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1919, at No. 45. All told, 201,070 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Bernerd (527) (total births since 1880)
Explore Bernard interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,616 | No. 81 |
| 1890s | 2,315 | No. 73 |
| 1900s | 3,296 | No. 68 |
| 1910s | 25,628 | No. 45 |
| 1920s | 42,408 | No. 45 |
| 1930s | 30,545 | No. 52 |
| 1940s | 26,446 | No. 82 |
| 1950s | 25,887 | No. 107 |
| 1960s | 17,475 | No. 152 |
| 1970s | 9,100 | No. 205 |
| 1980s | 6,507 | No. 274 |
| 1990s | 4,159 | No. 408 |
| 2000s | 2,252 | No. 655 |
| 2010s | 1,608 | No. 1100 |
| 2020s | 845 | No. 1250 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.