Bernadette

German
"brave as a bear"

Bernadette Origin and Meaning

The name Bernadette is a girl's name of German, French origin meaning "brave as a bear".

Although feminizations ending in "ette" are not particularly popular now, Bernadette is a pleasant, feminine, but strong name that doesn't feel prohibitively dated. And though strongly associated with the saint who saw visions of the Virgin Mary—Saint Bernadette of Lourdes—it is now no longer strictly inhabiting the Catholic diocese.

Bernadette was much more widely used at one time than it is now. The year after Saint Bernadette was canonized, her name reached Number 252, and not long after the successful film The Song of Bernadette was released, it hit Number 188 in 1946.

Bernadette Peters is a contemporary bearer, and Minnie Driver's breakthrough film role was as Bernadette "Benny" Hogan in Circle of Friends.

# 893 in the US

Bernadette Rank in US Top 1000

# 733 on Nameberry

Bernadette Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Bernadette Popularity

Famous People Named Bernadette

  • Saint Bernadette Soubirous
    French mystic and visionary of Our Lady of Lourdes
  • Bernadette Peters
    American actress and singer
  • Bernadette (Kraakman)
    Danish pop singer
  • Bernadette Anne "Pixie" McKenna
    Irish physician and TV presenter
  • Bernadette Lafont
    French actress
  • Bernadette Chirac
    wife of former French President Jacques Chirac
  • Bernadette Dupont
    French Senator
  • Bernadette Bourzai
    French Senator
  • Bernadette Yao
    American actor
  • Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton
    English actress
  • Shona Bernadette McGarty
    English actress
  • Sinead Marie Bernadette O'Connor
    Irish singer,songwriter
  • Bernadette Banner
    historical costumer and YouTube creater

Bernadette in Pop Culture

  • Bernadette Maryann Rostenkowski
    Wolowitz, character on TV's "The Big Bang Theory"
  • Bernadette Fox
    main character in "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" by Maria Semple
  • Sister Bernadette (later Shelagh Turner)
    character on TV's "Call the Midwife"
  • Bernadette Ezkeniazki
    character in the movie "No Reservations"
  • Bernadette Stabler
    Eliott Stabler's mother on TV's "Law and Order; SVU"
  • "Bernadette
    " song by The Four Tops
  • "Bernadette
    " song by IAMX
  • "Bernadette
    " song by Paul Simon
  • "Bernadette
    " song by The Kinks