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