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Bernard

Boy's name · #1362 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Bernard is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1919, when it ranked #45. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 200,000 boys since 1880, ranked #1362 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Bernard is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 17 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Bernard ranks in other countries and regions.

#159 in Poland (2025) · #251 in Sweden (2025) · #277 in Norway (2025) · #520 in Ireland (2025) · #668 in Scotland (2025) · #784 in England & Wales (2025) · #986 in Belgium (2025) · #1,077 in Canada (2024).

Famous Bernards

• Bernard of Clairvaux — Burgundian saint, abbot and theologian (1090–1153)
• Bernard Montgomery — British Army officer (1887–1976)
• Bernard Arnault — French entrepreneur
• Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle — French writer and philosopher of the enlightenment (1657–1757)
• Bernard Bolzano — Bohemian mathematician and priest (1781–1848)

In stories & tradition

• Bernard Quatermass — The Quatermass Xperiment (film)
• Bernard Nadler^pt — Lost (TV series)
• Bernard Weish — Fictional linguist

What Bernards become

Among 6,734 notable people named Bernard:

Political leaders appear 1.93× more often than among typical names — e.g. Bernard Cazeneuve, French prime minister.

Similar names: Bernardo · Arnold · Benton · Virgil · Howard · Leonard

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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