| Bernard | Herman | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Bold as a bear | Army man / soldier |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | BUR-nard | HUR-mun |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1924 (4,505) | 1921 (3,219) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Bernard | Herman |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 845 | 321 |
| 2010s | 1,608 | 750 |
| 2000s | 2,252 | 1,103 |
| 1990s | 4,159 | 1,957 |
| 1980s | 6,507 | 3,124 |
| 1970s | 9,100 | 4,761 |
| 1960s | 17,475 | 8,360 |
| 1950s | 25,887 | 13,832 |
| 1940s | 26,446 | 16,856 |
| 1930s | 30,545 | 20,319 |
| 1920s | 42,408 | 29,011 |
| 1910s | 25,628 | 22,598 |
| 1900s | 3,296 | 5,064 |
| 1890s | 2,315 | 4,232 |
| 1880s | 1,616 | 3,689 |
From Germanic 'bern' (bear) and 'hard' (brave, hardy), 'brave/strong as a bear' - the bear being a warrior symbol. Borne by several saints.
From Germanic 'heri' (army) and 'man' (man), giving 'man of the army, soldier'. The Latinized Arminius refers to the same Cheruscan war-leader.
Bernard and Herman are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Bernard means Bold as a bear (germanic origin), while Herman means Army man / soldier (germanic origin).
In US records, Bernard first appears in 0 and Herman in 0, so Bernard has the longer recorded history.