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Bernie

Gender
Boy
Say it
BER-nee
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#1,192 for boys
US rank, 2025
#8,239 for boys

Bernie is a boys' name of Germanic origin, meaning “brave as a bear”. In 2025 it ranked 1,192nd for boys in the UK (26 babies) and 8,239th for boys in the US (9 babies).

What does Bernie mean?

Germanic: pet form of Bernard

“brave as a bear”

More on Wiktionary.

Is Bernie a girl's or a boy's name?

Bernie is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 4 girls and 26 boys in the UK and 9 boys in the US.

How popular is Bernie in the UK?

Rank in 2025
1,192nd among boys
Babies in 2025
26 about 1 in 12,000 boys
Five-year trend
Steady up 13% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 26 boys in the UK were named Bernie, making it the 1,192nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,150th. Its busiest year was 2021, with 30 boys. 4 girls were also named Bernie in 2025 (4,935th for girls).

Half of all the boys named Bernie in the UK since 1996 were born between 2015 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 13% of the babies named Bernie in the UK were girls.

Among boys in 2025, it was 1,124th in England and Wales.

2000Busiest: 30 in 20212025
Bernie in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202526#1,192
202421#1,355
202330#1,072
202221#1,364
202130#1,064
202026#1,150
201926#1,124
201816#1,638
201713#1,922
201613#1,909
201517#1,535
20146#3,125
20138#2,541
20129#2,382
20116#3,038
20107#2,775
20098#2,445
20080–
20076#2,873
20060–
20054#3,330
20043#3,792
20030–
20025#2,358
20010–
20003#3,146

How popular is Bernie in the US?

Rank in 2025
8,239th among boys
Babies in 2025
9 about 1 in 190,000 boys
Five-year trend
Too rare to call too few babies to tell
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 9 boys in the US were named Bernie, making it the 8,239th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,231st. Its busiest year was 1960, with 231 boys.

Half of all the boys named Bernie in the US since 1880 were born between 1933 and 1964, the years shaded on the chart below.

Girls were 37% of the babies named Bernie in the US in 1900, and 12% in 1975.

1880Busiest: 231 in 19602025
Bernie in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20259#8,239
202417#5,439
20239#8,250
202213#6,473
202118#5,105
202017#5,231
20196#10,797
20189#8,150
20179#8,136
201621#4,623
201511#7,061
20146#10,711
201311#7,021
20129#8,152
201112#6,572
201019#4,845
200920#4,746
200821#4,537
200711#7,090
200625#3,886
200530#3,315
200426#3,530
200329#3,181
200221#3,904
200120#3,968
200021#3,758
199924#3,275
199826#3,014
199726#2,899
199623#3,102
199521#3,186
199428#2,613
199326#2,691
199233#2,248
199127#2,538
199033#2,165
198936#1,988
198825#2,362
198726#2,211
198633#1,835
198543#1,523
198436#1,629
198331#1,786
198228#1,928
198137#1,601
198045#1,410
197952#1,270
197853#1,229
197770#1,027
197653#1,179
197560#1,084
197457#1,091
197373#941
197284#877
197174#947
197087#861
196990#812
196886#799
1967100#735
196698#747
1965119#681
1964165#610
1963160#614
1962204#551
1961215#542
1960231#522
1959183#581
1958210#530
1957175#581
1956154#607
1955133#644
1954146#610
1953130#626
1952127#622
1951120#645
1950127#605
1949134#579
1948155#531
1947176#509
1946140#541
1945128#527
1944138#514
1943142#529
1942135#524
1941146#485
1940116#545
1939119#524
1938145#478
1937144#468
1936127#504
1935135#490
1934140#484
1933128#495
1932130#504
1931113#550
193099#618
192990#649
1928110#588
192789#684
1926105#612
1925101#628
192489#691
192399#644
192291#678
192189#687
192090#674
1919100#603
191874#748
191779#674
191688#620
191575#671
191453#712
191343#696
191233#755
191127#584
191022#621
190914#756
190819#585
190721#511
190612#709
190518#549
190413#647
19039#783
190217#521
190112#596
190019#555
189910#661
18985#1,120
18978#786
18965#1,100
189514#556
189413#567
189310#650
189213#571
18918#699
189013#533
188911#581
188813#554
18876#819
18868#694
18855#935
18846#848
18837#720
188211#576
18810–
18805#909

Names like Bernie

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Freddie, Archie, Charlie, Louie, Frederick, Otis, Bertie, Albert, Ollie, Ernie, Eddie, Arnie

Names related to Bernie

Beren

More Germanic names

Amelia, Liam, Henry, Charlotte, William, Emma, Ella, Harry, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Miles, Alice, Myles, Charles, Lottie

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Bernie: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/bernie, updated 20 October 2026.