The first name Bernard

Discover the meaning and origin of the first name Bernard, its history and its evolution in baptism records preserved in Genealogy Quebec’s collections.

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About the first name Bernard

Meaning

The name Bernard traditionally means “strong as a bear” or “brave bear”.

Historical origin

The name Bernard comes from Germanic Bernhard, formed from bern “bear” and hard “strong, brave”.

Did you know?

Bernard belongs to the broad heritage of medieval names carried from Europe to New France.

Pronunciation:ber-nardbɛʁn.aʁ

Frequency of the first name Bernard by baptism year

The chart below shows the frequency of the first name Bernard by the year of baptisms listed in Genealogy Quebec’s data. It highlights the periods when this first name appears most often and its evolution across generations.

908total mentions

Annual evolution of the first name BernardLine chart showing the frequency of the first name Bernard in baptisms by year.10075502501640171017801850192019901640–1644 2 baptisms1650–1654 2 baptisms1655–1659 2 baptisms1665–1669 4 baptisms1670–1674 8 baptisms1675–1679 2 baptisms1680–1684 4 baptisms1685–1689 6 baptisms1695–1699 6 baptisms1710–1714 6 baptisms1715–1719 6 baptisms1720–1724 2 baptisms1730–1734 6 baptisms1735–1739 2 baptisms1740–1744 6 baptisms1745–1749 4 baptisms1750–1754 4 baptisms1755–1759 2 baptisms1760–1764 2 baptisms1765–1769 4 baptisms1770–1774 2 baptisms1775–1779 8 baptisms1780–1784 20 baptisms1785–1789 8 baptisms1790–1794 10 baptisms1795–1799 12 baptisms1800–1804 6 baptisms1805–1809 24 baptisms1810–1814 16 baptisms1815–1819 12 baptisms1820–1824 14 baptisms1825–1829 22 baptisms1830–1834 22 baptisms1835–1839 34 baptisms1840–1844 18 baptisms1845–1849 38 baptisms1850–1854 30 baptisms1855–1859 52 baptisms1860–1864 56 baptisms1865–1869 34 baptisms1870–1874 16 baptisms1875–1879 10 baptisms1880–1884 18 baptisms1885–1889 16 baptisms1890–1894 16 baptisms1895–1899 18 baptisms1900–1904 10 baptisms1905–1909 6 baptisms1910–1914 14 baptisms1915–1919 24 baptisms1920–1924 22 baptisms1925–1929 32 baptisms1930–1934 14 baptisms1935–1939 18 baptisms1940–1944 18 baptisms1945–1949 16 baptisms1950–1954 40 baptisms1955–1959 32 baptisms1960–1964 16 baptisms1965–1969 4 baptisms1970–1974 12 baptisms1975–1979 8 baptisms1980–1984 6 baptisms1990–1994 4 baptisms

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