Find out how popular the last name Bernard is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bernard.

Bernard, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bernard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bernard in America

Bernard is the 899th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bernard surname appeared 38,512 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Bernard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bernard to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bernard

The surname Bernard has its origins in the Germanic tribes of ancient Europe. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic words 'bern' meaning 'bear' and 'hard' meaning 'brave' or 'hardy'. Together, the name means 'brave as a bear'.

The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 8th century in the Frankish kingdom of modern-day France and Germany. One of the first documented individuals with this surname was Bernard of Septimania, a Frankish nobleman and military leader who lived from around 795 to 844 AD.

In the Middle Ages, the name Bernard became particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. It is believed that the name was brought to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066 by French-Norman settlers.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, includes several references to individuals with the surname Bernard or similar spellings like Bernart and Bernhard.

One of the most famous historical figures with this surname was St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), a French abbot and major leader of the Cistercian monastic order. His writings and sermons had a profound influence on Western Christianity.

Another notable bearer of this name was Claude Bernard (1813-1878), a French physiologist and pioneer in the field of experimental medicine. He is renowned for his groundbreaking work on the function of the pancreas and the glycogenic function of the liver.

In the field of literature, the French writer and dramatist Tristan Bernard (1866-1947) was a prominent figure known for his satirical plays and comedies.

Moving to the 20th century, Pierre Bernard (1875-1955) was a French-American occultist and co-founder of the Tantrik Order, an influential organization that helped popularize yoga and Eastern spiritual practices in the United States.

In the realm of politics, Raymond Bernard (1891-1976) was a French right-wing politician and collaborator with the Vichy regime during World War II.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bernard

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bernard.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bernard was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bernard has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bernard was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bernard, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!