Bernardine
Feminine form of Bernard, derived from the Germanic elements "bern" meaning bear and "hard" meaning brave or hardy.
Name Census estimates that about 789 living Americans carry the first name Bernardine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bernardine today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bernardine births was 1925 (85 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bernardine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Bernardine is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Bernardines were born before 1961.
People living today
789
~ 1 in 434,416 Americans
Peak year
1925
85 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1978 SSA rank
#9,908
Tracked since 1888
Popularity
Bernardine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bernardine from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 712 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bernardine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bernardine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bernardines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Bernardine, while South Dakota, Ohio, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 79 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bernardine
Bernardine is a given name derived from the Latin name Bernardinus, which is a diminutive form of the name Bernardus. Bernardus, in turn, is derived from the Germanic elements "bern" meaning "bear" and "hard" meaning "brave" or "hardy." The name can be traced back to the 12th century when it gained popularity in medieval Europe, particularly in regions with strong Germanic cultural influences.
The name Bernardine is closely associated with St. Bernardine of Siena, a renowned Franciscan friar and preacher who lived from 1380 to 1444. He was canonized in 1450 and is venerated as a patron saint of advertising and public relations due to his skilled oratory and ability to attract large crowds during his sermons. St. Bernardine's influence helped popularize the name in Italy and other Catholic regions of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Bernardine can be found in the 13th-century text "The Chronicle of Lanercost," which mentions a person named "Bernardinus de Vicci." In the 15th century, the Italian painter Bernardino di Betto, known as Pinturicchio (1454-1513), was a prominent figure in the Renaissance art world.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Bernardine. These include Bernardine of Obando (1564-1636), a Spanish missionary and bishop in Colombia; Bernardine Realino (1530-1616), an Italian Jesuit priest and mathematician; and Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444), the aforementioned Franciscan friar and saint.
Other historically significant individuals named Bernardine include Bernardine Rivadavia (1780-1845), an influential Argentine statesman and the first President of Argentina; and Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary (1777-1860), the sister of Joseph Bonaparte's wife and a member of the French imperial family during the Napoleonic era.
People
Bernardine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bernardine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bernardine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bernardine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 789 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bernardine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 434,416 US residents.
Is Bernardine a common name?
We classify Bernardine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,128 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bernardine most popular?
The single biggest year for Bernardine was 1925, when 85 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bernardine is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bernardine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bernardine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.