BERNHARD
Bernhard is a surname of German provenance, originating from the personal name Bernhard that was common in early Germanic societies.
The name Bernhard is composed of the elements bern, meaning “bear”, and hard, meaning “brave” or “strong”. Consequently the surname can be interpreted as “brave as a bear” or “strong as a bear”. As a patronymic surname it originally served to identify the descendants of an individual named Bernhard.
Historical records show that the surname was in use as early as the 12th century in England, where the earliest known instance is the name Hugo Bernard dated to 1130 in the Pipe Rolls of Lincoln. Subsequent early examples include Thomas Bernhard of Cambridge, 1260; Albertus Berenhardus of Schwennenning, Germany, 1290; and Gregorius Bernhardt christened at Chemnitz, Saxony, 18 January 1549. The surname has been spelled in more than one hundred different forms, such as Barnard, Benard, Bernat, Bernth, Bernucci and Bieratowicz.
The popularity of the surname was further enhanced by the saintly influence of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1010‑1153), founder of the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux, and St. Bernard of Menthon (923‑1108), founder of Alpine hospices and patron saint of mountaineers.
During the Middle Ages the name was borne by several Germanic rulers, notably Emperor Bernhard of Carinthia (1053‑1112) and his son Bernhard of Saxe‑Lauenburg (1168‑1266). In later periods it was adopted by the first king of Bavaria who is historically regarded for unifying that realm during the 18th‑century wars of independence.
In modern times the surname has spread widely, especially in the United States where immigration from Europe introduced it into the New World. It is viewed as a name that conveys nobility and strength of character. The surname is fairly common in several European countries, including France—particularly in Haute‑Garonne—Netherlands, where it is frequent in Utrecht, Italy, especially Lombardy, and Scandinavia, with a notable presence in Sweden’s Stockholm and Västra Götaland counties as well as Finland. In North America it is common in both the United States and Canada, and it is a frequent Jewish surname, ranking in the top five‑percent of all Jewish surnames.
Variants of the surname include Bernhardt, Barnhardt, Bernhardi, Bernhardsson, Burnhardt, Bernharde, Bernhardy, Burnard, Beinhard, Bernhardtus, Burnhard, Bernhart and Burnhardus, among others. These spellings are found across German‑speaking regions and beyond, reflecting the surname’s broad historical and geographical reach.
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Bernhard in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 91 people named Bernhard in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around one in a million people in Britain are named Bernhard.
Famous people named Bernhard
- Sandra Bernhard - American actress
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.