Bernal

Boys' name

Meaning unconfirmed; recorded in an 1884 name reference

Bernal has been given to 190 babies in the U.S. since 1914. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1918, with 18 recorded.

Babies named Bernal, 1969

1 in 695,000

Bernal over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Bernal: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning unconfirmed; recorded in an 1884 name reference

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Bernal means

Bernal is a given name.

The naming story behind Bernal

Charlotte M. Yonge’s 1884 History of Christian Names includes the exact spelling Bernal in its glossary. The entry labels it masculine and points to printed page(s) 339.

The glossary’s abbreviated description reads: “Span. Teu. firm bear”. This is the historical author’s wording, including its language abbreviations and any proposed interpretation. It is presented as historical evidence, not as a verified modern translation. Victorian classifications and root explanations can differ from later linguistic research.

For Bernal, the current short meaning therefore remains unconfirmed. Establishing its modern etymology requires a current reference that documents the exact form and its relationship to the proposed earlier words.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 190 boys were recorded with the name Bernal between 1914 and 1969. Its highest annual count was 18 in 1918; its best national rank was #1,831 in 1918.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Bernal?

Bernal had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1969, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1969: 1 in 695,000; 5 of 3,475,126 births
Among boys only: 1 in 358,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1969: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 481,756 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Bernal sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1969 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 481,756 children born in 1969 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Bernal. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Bernals were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Bernal was born before 1931 — so the typical Bernal is around 94 today.

Median birth year: 1931; About 94 years old
Biggest decade: 1930s; 27.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 13.7%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 26; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1930s — 27.4% of all recorded uses (52).

Is Bernal rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1918 (18)
Years since peak: 107; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 31.1% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,831; 1918

Spellings of Bernal

Bernal is not the most common spelling — Bernard is, with 88.6% against Bernal's 0.08%.

Bernard88.6%200,087
Bernie4.1%9,225
Hernan2.3%5,230
Beryl1.0%2,338
Bernabe0.81%1,824
Vernal0.79%1,788
Bernell0.69%1,558
Berl0.48%1,089

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Bernal by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,831; 1918
Peak year: 1918; 18 that year
First recorded: 1914
Last recorded: 1969
All-time count: 190
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Bernal

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Berish Bergen Berel Bereket Berlie Beren Beric Berman Berwyn Berley Bertel Bertin Beryle Berlyn Bernis Bertis Berlin Bertil Bertrum Bernon Bertran Berger Berkay Berney

Sibling names for Bernal

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Winnifred Johnie Ray Lida Maybelle Floy Garnet Mathilda

For a brother

Granville Valentine Ellsworth Orval Sol Omer Ferdinand Regis

Explore around Bernal

Top names of 1918, Bernal's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1918 Boys' names starting with B