Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Bernard?
Births per year, rank history and how many Bernards are alive today.
Bernard (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 782nd in 2025 with 42 given the name. The name peaked in 1914, when around 2,800 babies were given the name, the 40th most popular that year. It has declined since 1914; the 2025 figure is roughly 2% of its peak. Numbers have been rising in recent years. At least 120,000 babies have been named Bernard in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Bernard you are most likely to meet is around 81 years old. Half of all Bernards born in England and Wales are between 58 and 82, and there are at least 38,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 12% chance that at least one of them will be called Bernard.
How many babies are named Bernard each year?
Where does Bernard rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Bernard most popular?
Bernard peaked in 1914, when around 2,800 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Bernard?
At least 38,000 people named Bernard born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Bernard?
Most living Bernards are between 58 and 82; the most common age is about 81.
Is Bernard becoming more or less popular?
Rising: numbers have been climbing in recent years.