Bernard (Bernhard) is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname.
Article
Bernard (Bernhard) is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic Bernhard is composed from the two elements bern "bear" and hard "brave, hardy". Its native Old English cognate was Beornheard, which was replaced or merged with the French form Bernard that was brought to England after the Norman Conquest. The name Bernhard was notably popular among Old Frisian speakers. Its wider use was popularized due to Saint Bernhard of Clairvaux (canonized in 1174). In Ireland, the name was an anglicized form of Brian.
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Geographical distribution
Bernard is the second most common surname in France.
As of 2014, 42.2% of all known bearers of the surname Bernard were residents of France (frequency 1:392), 12.5% of the United States (1:7,203), 7.0% of Haiti (1:382), 6.6% of Tanzania (1:1,961), 4.8% of Canada (1:1,896), 3.6% of Nigeria (1:12,221), 2.7% of Burundi (1:894), 1.9% of Belgium (1:1,500), 1.6% of Rwanda (1:1,745), 1.2% of Germany (1:16,397), 1.2% of Jamaica (1:595), 1.1% of Ghana (1:6,179), 1.0% of England (1:13,691) and 1.0% of Madagascar (1:6,098).
In France, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:392) in the following regions:
Collectivity of Saint Martin (1:60)
Saint Barthélemy (1:189)
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (1:260)
Nouvelle-Aquitaine (1:283)
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (1:296)
Brittany (1:333)
Pays de la Loire (1:336)
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (1:348)
Hauts-de-France (1:391)
List of people with the name
The following people and items share the name Bernard:
Given name
Saint Bernard
Bernard, son of Charles Martel (c. 720 – 787), Abbot of St. Quentin
Bernard (bishop of Carlisle) (died 1214), 13th-century Catholic bishop
Bernard (bishop of Gaeta) (died 1047)
Bernard (bishop of St Davids) (1115–1148)
Bernard (son of Charles the Fat) (died 891 or 892), Duke of Alemannia
Bernard Gui (c. 1260 – 1331), 14th century inquisitor
Bernard of Calvo (Bernat Calbó), 13th-century saint and Bishop of Vich
Bernard of Carinola (died 1109), 12th-century saint and Bishop of Carinola
Bernard of Cluny, 12th-century Benedictine monk
Bernard of Kilwinning (died c. 1331), Scottish abbot and chancellor
Bernard of Quintavalle (died 1241), companion of St. Francis of Assisi
Bernard of Verdun, author of the Tractatus super totam astrologiam
Bernard (footballer) (Bernard Anício Caldeira Duarte), Brazilian footballer
Bernard Aluwihare (1902–1961), Sri Lankan politician
Bernard Alvarez, NASCAR racing driver
Bernard Anício Caldeira Duarte, known as "Bernard", Brazilian footballer
Surname
Bernard (surname)
Fictional characters
Bernard (TV shorts), the curious polar bear from the animation series Bernard
Bernard, a character in The Rescuers
Bernard, a character from Blackadder II, who is usually only called by her title: Nursie
Bernarda Alba, the mother in Federico García Lorca's drama, La casa de Bernarda Alba
Bernard Beasley, a character from the children's programme Bernard's Watch
Bernard Bernoulli, a character from Maniac Mansion
Bernard Black, a character from Black Books
Bernard "Barney" Fife, deputy sheriff of Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show
Bernard Nadler, a character from the television show Lost
Bernard Quatermass, a British scientist in the Quatermass science fiction productions
Bernard the Arch-elf, The Head elf from Disney's Santa Clause Movies
Bernard Wiseman, a character from Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
Bernard Woolley, a character from Yes Minister
Andy Bernard, character on the United States television series The Office
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Bernard Balleret (born 1954), Monegasque tennis player
Bernard Baruch (1870–1965), American financier and political adviser
Bernard Berrian (born 1980), American football player
Bernard Blandre (born 1948), French sociologist
Bernard Blaut (1940–2007), Polish football player
Bernard Bober (born 1950), Slovak Catholic Prelate, Archbishop of Košice
Bernard Bonnejean (born 1950), French author
Bernard Boursicot (born 1944), on whom the play M. Butterfly was based
Bernard Bresslaw (1934–1993), British actor, Carry On films
Bernard Brown (born 1933), British actor
Bernard B. Brown (1898–1981), American sound engineer
Bernard Butler (born 1970), English musician
Bernard Caprasse (born 1949), Belgian politician
Bernard Cerquiglini (born 1947), French linguist
Bernard Charvin (born 1947), French alpine skier
Bernard Chenez (born 1946), French cartoonist and writer
Bernard Cottret (1951–2020), French historian
Bernard Coyne (giant) (1897–1921), American who is one of only 20 individuals in medical history to have stood 8 feet (240 cm) or more
Bernard Cribbins (1928–2022), English children's TV personality, actor and voice artist
Bernard Dowiyogo (1946–2003), President of Nauru
Bernard Ebbers (1941–2020), engineered an accounting fraud at WorldCom while he was its CEO
Bernie Ecclestone (born 1930), British business magnate and primary authority in Formula One
Bernard Edwards (American football) (born 1969), American football player
Bernard Fanning (born 1969), Australian singer, Powderfinger
Bernard Fensterwald, American lawyer
Bernard Finnigan (born 1972), Australian politician and sex offender
Bernard T. Feld (1919–1993), 20th century physicist and anti-nuclear activist
Bernard Fox (Irish republican) (born 1951), Provisional Irish Republican Army member
Bernard Freeman, birth name of American rapper Bun B
Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand's most famous soldier and General of World War II
Bernard Grech, Maltese politician serving as the leader of the Nationalist Party and Opposition
Bernard Guignedoux (1947–2021), French football player
Bernard Haisch (1949–2026), German-born American astrophysicist
Bernard Hall (disambiguation), multiple people
Bernard Henry (born 1960), American football player
Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975), American film composer
Bernard Hill (1944–2024), English actor
Bernard Hinault (born 1954), French cyclist, five-time winner of the Tour de France
Bernard Hopkins (born 1965), boxer
Bernard Jayamanna (1908–1965), Sri Lankan Sinhala playwright, director, producer, actor
Bernard Jayasuriya, Sri Lankan businessman and politician
Bernard Kalb (1922–2023), American broadcast journalist
Bernard Kester (1928–2018), American artist, designer
Bernard Koura (1923–2018), French painter
Bernard Ładysz (1922–2020), Polish singer and actor
Bernard Lagat (born 1974), Kenyan-American distance runner
Bernard Lee (1908–1981), English actor
Bernard Lepkofker, American competitive judoka
Bernard Looney (born 1969/1970), Irish businessman, CEO of BP
Bernie Mac (born Bernard McCullough, 1957–2008), comedian and actor
Bernard Madoff (1938–2021), American stockbroker who engineered a $65 billion Ponzi scheme
Bernard Malamud (1914–1986), American writer
Bernard Manning (1930–2007), British stand-up comedian
Bernard Matthews, English turkey farmer, founder of Bernard Matthews Limited
Bernard McGinley, American judge
Bernard Ménétrel (1906–1947), French physician and advisor to Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II
Bernard Mohlalisi (1933–2020), Mosotho Roman Catholic bishop
Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976), English military officer
Bernard de Montréal (1939–2003), Canadian author and lecturer
Bernard Moullier (born 1957), French ski jumper
Bernard of Offida (1604–1694), Italian Roman Catholic professed religious from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
Bernard Opper (1915–2000), American basketball player
Bernard Orcel (born 1945), French alpine skier
Bernard Parrish (1919–1999), American politician
Bernard Peiris (1908–1977), Sri Lankan lawyer
Bernard Perera (1956–2012), Sri Lankan cricketer
Bernard Rajzman (born 1957), Brazilian volleyball player
Bernard Rands (1934–2026), British and American classical composer
Bernard Ringeissen (1934–2025), French classical pianist
Bernard H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), American politician
Bernard Sachs (1858–1944), American neurologist
Bernie Sanders (born 1941), US Senator from Vermont
Bernard Satenstein (1906–1959), American football player
Bernard Schuiteman (born 1973), Dutch football player
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), usually referred to as "Bernard Shaw", Irish playwright, critic, and essayist
Bernard Shaw (1940–2022), American broadcast journalist
Bernard Shir-Cliff (1924–2017), American editor
Bernard Smith, multiple people
Bernard Soysa (1914–1997), Sri Lankan Trotskyist
Bernard Spilsbury (1877–1947), English pathologist
Bernard Stoeser (1930–2024), American politician
Bernard Sumner (born 1956), British musician
Bernard Tapie (1943–2021), French businessman and politician
Bernie Taupin (born 1950), British songwriter and collaborator with Elton John
Bernard Tilakaratna (1927–2004), Sri Lankan diplomat
Bernard Tomic (born 1992), Australian tennis player
Bernard Vera (born 1950), French politician
Bernard Vogler (1935–2020), French historian and academic
Bernard Whitman (fl. 1980s–2020s), Democratic strategist and pollster
Bernard Wilson, multiple people
Bernard "Bernie" Wolfe (born 1951), Canadian hockey player
Bernard Wolfman (1924–2011), American dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and law professor
