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

Bernhardt, 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 Bernhardt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bernhardt in America

Bernhardt is the 4860th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bernhardt surname appeared 7,253 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Bernhardt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bernhardt 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 Bernhardt

The surname Bernhardt is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Bernhard, which is composed of the elements "bern" meaning bear and "hard" meaning brave or hardy. This name was originally a descriptive nickname given to someone who was considered brave or hardy like a bear.

In its earliest form, the surname was spelled as "Bernhart" or "Bernhard". It first appeared in various historical records and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Bernhard von Clairvaux, a French abbot and monastic reformer who lived from 1090 to 1153.

The Bernhardt surname can be found in various medieval charters and documents from regions such as Bavaria, Saxony, and Franconia in Germany. It was also present in the Domesday Book, a famous medieval census compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror, which recorded landholders in England after the Norman Conquest.

Over time, the name evolved into various spellings, such as Bernhard, Bernhardt, and Bernhart, with the modern spelling "Bernhardt" becoming more common in the 18th and 19th centuries. Notable historical figures with this surname include Theodor von Bernhardi (1802-1887), a Prussian military theorist, and Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), a famous French actress.

Other prominent individuals with the Bernhardt surname include Heinrich Bernhardt (1608-1684), a German composer and organist, Karl Bernhardt (1838-1923), a German landscape painter, and Hans Bernhardt (1888-1942), a German naval officer and U-boat commander during World War I. Additionally, Georg Bernhardt (1892-1963) was a German physicist known for his contributions to the development of radar technology.

The Bernhardt surname has a rich history dating back to medieval times, originating from a descriptive nickname that became a hereditary surname. Over the centuries, it has been carried by notable individuals from various fields, reflecting its enduring presence across different regions and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bernhardt

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

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 Bernhardt 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 Bernhardt 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 Bernhardt was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bernhardt, 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!