Bernd

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Bernd is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Thai given name910 records spelled Bernd17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, Thailand, United States, Netherlands

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Brand, แบรนด์, แบร์นด์, Baen, แบร์นด

• Croatian given name797 records spelled Bernd7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Croatia, United States, Switzerland, Bulgaria

  Languages: Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovenian

  Also written Бернд

• Russian given name416 records spelled Bernd8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye, United States

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian

  Also written Бернд, Бэрнд

53 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Bernd is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, German short form of Bernard; ‘bear’ + ‘strong, hardy’.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In German, a diminutive of the male given name Bernhard

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Forme allemande courte de Bernard.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In German, ) Bemt; Bemdt: männl. Vom.,

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• In English, A German anon (“anonymous poster”).

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

AT Statistik Austria — Vornamen der Geborenen (1984–present) — 40 years between 1984–2023. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Genrikh Kleĭstb. 1777DEnot in their usual nameGerman poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer (1777–1811)
• Bernd Hölzenbeinb. 1946DEGerman footballer (1946-2024)
• Bernd Eichingerb. 1949DEGerman film producer, director, and screenwriter (1949–2011)
• Bernd Försterb. 1956DEGerman footballer
• Bernd Schusterb. 1959DEGerman association football manager and former player
• Thomas Andersb. 1963DEnot in their usual nameGerman singer, songwriter, and producer
• Bernd Storckb. 1963DEGerman footballer and manager
• Bernd Schneiderb. 1964DEGerman racing driver
• Bernd Schneiderb. 1973DEGerman association football player
• Bernd Lenob. 1992DEGerman association football player (born 1992)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 218 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Bernd?

We estimate roughly 20 thousand people bear Bernd (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Bernd have the most bearers?

Bernd is most frequently recorded in Germany, where it is most often spelled bernd.

How common is Bernd compared with other names?

In Germany, Bernd is the 26th most common given name of 154,506 given names recorded there.

Is Bernd a male or female name?

Bernd is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Bernd mean?

Recorded meaning: from Berinhart, from *beran- 'bear' + *hardu- 'hard, strong'