Names That Mean Bear

Rhythmic and powerful, if you don't mind the nickname Vern.

A Slovene diminutive of Ursula. Unlike in the Anglosphere, where many still see Ursula as a heavy name, Urška is popular in Slovenia and has even ranked in the Top 20.

A surname style choice that could get you nicknames Bear and Ozzy, which is pretty cool. It comes from the Old English variant of the Old Norse Ásbjǫrn, which was introduced to England after the Norman conquest and used occasionally as a given name ever since. Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell used the spelling variation Osborne in her final novel, Wives and Daughters.

Berold is one of the more obscure boy names meaning bear, which also include Arthur, Orson, and (in a different vein) Teddy.

Hip short form of Bernard, also Swiss place-name.

Once a diminutive for Arthur, now used in its own right. Tuur is a Top 100 name in Belgium and a Top 300 name in the Netherlands.

If you're looking for a girl's name that honors an ancestral Arthur, try Artis.

Orsola is chic in Italy in a way that Ursula is not in the U.S. And English speakers will inevitably hear this chic, sleek name as Ursula, condemned to purgatory as the name of the hideous sea-witch who terrorized Disney's Little Mermaid.

With the growing popularity for girls of such names as Aubrey and Audrey, Auberon feels like a fresh and viable option.