Bernard
A surname from the old personal name Bernard, originally meaning “brave as a bear.”
The #899 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,017 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bernard comes from the medieval personal name Bernard, introduced into English through Norman French. The name is built from Germanic elements meaning “bear” and “hardy, brave, strong,” so the original sense is usually explained as “bold bear” or “strong as a bear.” It became widespread across medieval Europe through saintly and noble use, and later passed into hereditary surname use as a family name derived from the forename.
History
The surname is common in England and elsewhere because Bernard was a popular given name in the Middle Ages, especially after the cult of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Historical surname writers also note related forms such as Barnard and Bernardson, and sometimes treat Bernard as part of a wider family of names from the same personal name. In English records, the surname appears in several spellings and has long been established as a standard hereditary surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname writers connected Bernard with the bear, and the underlying Germanic name really does include the element for “bear.”
From the historical record
“Burnell. BERNARD. BERNARDSON. A well- lvno\vii personal name. BERNAYS. See under Berney. BERNERS. According to Domesd., Hugh de Berners, as a tenant in chief, held Evresdon, co. Cambridge. Tlie Itiu. Norm, mentions six localities called Bernicres, in diflcrent parts of Normandy, but which of them is the cradle of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom