Boy name origins & meanings
- German : Bold as a bear
Boy name variations
How Popular Is The Name Bernhard
Family name origins & meanings
- Dutch, German, and Scandinavian : from the Germanic personal name Bernhard, composed of the elements ber(n) ‘bear’ + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’. In the 13th and 14th centuries it vied with Arnold as the most popular personal name in the Netherlands and northern Germany. It was borne by St. Bernard of Menthon (923–1008), founder of Alpine hospices and patron saint of mountaineers, whose cult accounts for the frequency of the name in Alpine regions. See also Bernard.