Bernard
Germanic at root, built to mean "brave as a bear". Around 17,000 Polish men carry it, always as a man's name, and it's slipping again: fewer parents reach for it now than a few years back.
Bernard Pronunciation
Bernard is pronounced BER-nahrt (/ˈbɛrnart/).
What Bernard means
Where Bernard comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Bernard grew from Germanic roots. The first part, bern, means bear; the second, hard, means brave or strong. Together they give the meaning that has stayed with the name: strong as a bear.
The best-known bearer is Bernard of Clairvaux, the twelfth-century monk who shaped the Cistercian order. His reputation carried the name across Latin Europe, and it settled into Polish records beside the form Bernardus. His feast falls on 20 August.
The name bends into other shapes. Bernhard keeps the older German spelling, and Bernarda turns it toward a daughter. Read a Polish class register and a Bernard might sit a few desks from a Bernarda. On 20 August the imieniny gives both of them a name-day. Whatever the spelling, the meaning holds: strong as a bear.
When Bernard celebrates name day
Bernard appears 19 times in the Polish name day calendar, 4 of them as a main name, the first on 12 January.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
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in 86 days19 JanuaryTuesday in 2027
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in 90 days23 JanuarySaturday in 2027
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in 107 days9 FebruaryTuesday in 2027
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in 114 days16 FebruaryTuesday in 2027
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in 219 days1 JuneTuesday in 2027
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in 230 days12 JuneSaturday in 2027
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in 233 days15 JuneTuesday in 2027
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in 289 days10 AugustTuesday in 2027
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in 300 days21 AugustSaturday in 2027
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in 301 days22 AugustSunday in 2027
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in 320 days10 SeptemberFriday in 2027
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in 354 days14 OctoberThursday in 2027
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in 361 days21 OctoberThursday in 2027
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tomorrow26 OctoberMonday in 2026
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in 40 days4 DecemberFriday in 2026
How many people are named Bernard
1 in 1243 men in Poland is named Bernard. 17,179 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #294 among male names.
Bernard's popularity over time
58 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #324 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2006. Still the #294 name among living men, even as it slips to #324 among newborns.
Where parents choose Bernard
Bernard is most popular in Masovian, 69% above the national average (120 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Pomeranian (+56%) and Lower Silesian (+50%). It is least common in Holy Cross and Lubusz, 82% and 80% below average respectively.
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Masovian
+69%1 in 2,952 babies
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Pomeranian
+56%1 in 3,203 babies
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Lower Silesian
+50%1 in 3,343 babies
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Holy Cross
−82%1 in 27,717 babies
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Lubusz
−80%1 in 24,829 babies
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Lublin
−71%1 in 17,113 babies
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Masovian+69% 120 born1 in 2,952 babies+69%
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Pomeranian+56% 46 born1 in 3,203 babies+56%
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Lower Silesian+50% 47 born1 in 3,343 babies+50%
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Greater Poland+35% 58 born1 in 3,711 babies+35%
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Lesser Poland+19% 54 born1 in 4,202 babies+19%
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Łódź−13% 22 born1 in 5,760 babies−13%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−22% 17 born1 in 6,434 babies−22%
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West Pomeranian−35% 11 born1 in 7,675 babies−35%
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Silesian−41% 27 born1 in 8,429 babies−41%
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Warmian-Masurian−58% 6 born1 in 11,966 babies−58%
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Subcarpathian−59% 10 born1 in 12,057 babies−59%
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Podlaskie−70% 4 born1 in 16,447 babies−70%
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Lublin−71% 6 born1 in 17,113 babies−71%
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Lubusz−80% 2 born1 in 24,829 babies−80%
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Holy Cross−82% 2 born1 in 27,717 babies−82%
Bernard as a middle name
Bernard is a first name for 17,179 men in Poland and a middle name for another 18,530, a 48/52 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 90th, between Ludwik (19,094) and Cezary (17,694).
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#88 Gabriel22,230
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#89 Ludwik19,094
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#90 Bernard18,530
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#91 Cezary17,694
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#92 Feliks15,986