| Bernard | Randolph | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Bold as a bear | shield wolf |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | BUR-nard | RAN-dolf |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1924 (4,505) | 1952 (1,817) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Bernard | Randolph |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 845 | 133 |
| 2010s | 1,608 | 434 |
| 2000s | 2,252 | 799 |
| 1990s | 4,159 | 1,572 |
| 1980s | 6,507 | 2,900 |
| 1970s | 9,100 | 4,020 |
| 1960s | 17,475 | 8,195 |
| 1950s | 25,887 | 15,496 |
| 1940s | 26,446 | 7,555 |
| 1930s | 30,545 | 2,854 |
| 1920s | 42,408 | 2,735 |
| 1910s | 25,628 | 1,857 |
| 1900s | 3,296 | 414 |
| 1890s | 2,315 | 267 |
| 1880s | 1,616 | 193 |
From Germanic 'bern' (bear) and 'hard' (brave, hardy), 'brave/strong as a bear' - the bear being a warrior symbol. Borne by several saints.
From the Germanic/Old Norse name Randwulf (Rannulfr), combining 'rand' ('shield, rim') and 'wulf/ulfr' ('wolf'), meaning 'shield wolf'. Note some Norman forms became confused with Rannulf ('raven wolf').
Bernard and Randolph are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Bernard means Bold as a bear (germanic origin), while Randolph means shield wolf (germanic origin).
In US records, Bernard first appears in 0 and Randolph in 0, so Bernard has the longer recorded history.