Origin and popularity of the name BERNARD

Origin

Bernard : English Scottish French Walloon Breton Dutch German Polish Czech Slovenian West Indian (mainly Haiti) and African (mainly Tanzania): from the personal name Bernard from an ancient Germanic name composed of the elements ber(n) ‘bear’ + hard ‘brave hardy strong’ (see Bernhard). It was borne by several Christian saints including Saint 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. The popularity of the personal name was also greatly increased by virtue of its having been borne by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090–1153) founder and abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux. In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed cognates from other languages e.g. Italian Bernardo. Bernard is the second most frequent surname in France. Compare Barnard Benore and Burnor.

Barnston : 1: from Barnardiston (Suffolk) which is recorded as Bernardeston in 1194 and Barneston in 1524 (Subsidy Rolls). The place-name derives from either the Old English personal name Beornheard (genitive Beornheardes) or the Continental Germanic personal name Bernhard (Middle English Bernard genitive Bernardes) + Old English tūn Middle English toun ‘farmstead settlement’. 2: from Barnston (Cheshire) which is recorded as Bernestone in 1086 Berlestona in 1150 and Bernuston in 1348. The medieval bearers cited below shed light on the etymology of the place-name which derives from either the Old English personal name Beornwulf (genitive Beornwulfes) or the Old Scandinavian personal name Bjǫrnúlfr (genitive Bjǫrnúlfs) + Old English tūn ‘farmstead settlement’. 3: perhaps occasionally from one or more of a number of other places with similar names such as Barnston (Essex) which is recorded as Bernestuna in 1086 and Berneston in 1221 and Barnstone in Langar cum Barnstone (Notts) recorded as Bernestune in 1086 and Berniston in 1298. These two place-names derive from the Old English personal name Beorn (genitive Beornes) + tūn ‘farmstead settlement’. Some of the bearers cited here may belong to (1) or (2).

Bernot : 1: American shortened form of Lithuanian Bernotas.2: French: from a pet form of the personal name Bernard or any other name composed of the ancient Germanic element ber(n) ‘bear’.3: Slovenian: from an altered form of the personal name Bernard. Compare Bernat.

Brainwood : from Middle English brainwod ‘brain-mad furious’. Compare Brain (1). In the 16th and 17th centuries the name was sometimes altered to Branward Branard and Braynard and may have been confused with Branard as a metathesized variant of Barnard. Compare Margaret Bernard 1662 John Barnard 1680 Sarah Branard 1693 in IGI (Waltham Abbey Essex).

Brenard : metathesized variant of Barnard. Compare Daniel Bernard 1627 Georgii Barnard 1659 in IGI (Colne Lancs) with the 1758 bearer given below.

Bunsell : possibly if the 1332 bearer cited below is relevant from Burnshall in Milton Abbot (Devon) which is recorded as Bernardshall in 1488. The place-name probably derives from the Middle English personal name Bernard (genitive Bernardes) + hall ‘hall’. If however the 1332 bearer is irrelevant and we take the 1377 bearer as our starting point the origin appears to be a lost or unidentified place-name with Old English hyll ‘hill’ as the generic element and an uncertain first element.

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Last name frequency

Geographic distribution of the 2,832,435 individuals with the name BERNARD on Geneanet.

This last name in the family trees

See below the Geneanet members' family trees which contain the last name BERNARD