Bernhard
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name, equivalent to English Bernard.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Bernhard (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Bernhard has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2019. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 5 |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2014 | 3 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 7 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 625 |
| 2000 | 614 |
| 2001 | 605 |
| 2002 | 603 |
| 2003 | 583 |
| 2004 | 568 |
| 2005 | 549 |
| 2006 | 537 |
| 2007 | 516 |
| 2008 | 502 |
| 2009 | 492 |
| 2010 | 492 |
| 2011 | 485 |
| 2012 | 482 |
| 2013 | 474 |
| 2014 | 461 |
| 2015 | 456 |
| 2016 | 447 |
| 2017 | 446 |
| 2018 | 438 |
| 2019 | 433 |
| 2020 | 422 |
Bernhard in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Bernhard.Hi! My name is Bernhard.
- Bernhard ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Bernhard called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Bernhard i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Bernhard this afternoon.
- Bernhards mamma är lärare.Bernhard's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Bernhards mamma is Bernhard's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Bernhard
How do you pronounce Bernhard in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Bernhard from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Bernhard mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name, equivalent to English Bernard.
How popular is Bernhard in Sweden?
7 babies were named Bernhard in 2022. In 2020, 422 people in Sweden had Bernhard as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2019 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.