Bernadette

Bernadette: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “brave as a bear”
Origin: Germanic
Say it: bur-nuh-DET · 3 syllables
Used for: Girls

French feminine diminutive of Bernard, from Germanic bern bear and hard brave, hardy. Strongly associated with Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.

French names Irish names English names Names meaning brave Names meaning animal Names meaning strength Classic names Vintage names

How popular is Bernadette?

202456.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Bernadette in 2024186

2024 rank#1,245 girls

Peak year1946

Total US babies since 188054,788

Bernadette is rising: use over the last five years is 2.2× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Bernadette

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Bernardbrave bear · Germanic
Bernardobrave bear · Germanic
Bernadinebrave as a bear · Germanic
Emmawhole, universal · Germanic
Ameliawork · Germanic
Ellaall, completely · Germanic
Alicenoble type · Germanic
Adelinenoble · Germanic

Bernadette questions

What does the name Bernadette mean?

Bernadette means "brave as a bear". It comes from Germanic. French feminine diminutive of Bernard, from Germanic bern bear and hard brave, hardy. Strongly associated with Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.

Is Bernadette a boy or girl name?

Bernadette is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Bernadette?

186 US babies were named Bernadette in 2024. Its peak year was 1946.

How do you pronounce Bernadette?

Bernadette is usually pronounced bur-nuh-DET.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.