Names That Mean Bear

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

As dated as the old Pat Boone song.

A possible hero name inspired by notables from Spanish poet/playwright Federico Garcia Lorca to writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez to the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia.

Cornish form of the Welsh name Arthen, meaning "bear".

Torbjorn, written as Torbjörn in Swedish and Torbjørn in Norwegian, is derived from the Old Norse Þórbjǫrn, meaning "Thor's bear." It's currently a grandpa name in Scandinavia, but some ahead-of-the-curve parents have revived it for their sons.

The slashed O form of Bjorn is standard in Norway and Denmark. The umlaut variation, Björn is used in most other languages today.

Bjarni is an ancient name derived from Bjǫrn, the Old Norse name and word for bear. Today Bjarni is primarily used in Iceland.

A combination of the Hebrew Dov, and Yiddish Ber — both of which mean "bear".

An interesting northerly addition to the list of wilderness animal names.

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

Corsican form of Ursus

A Swedish old-man name that is currently attracting more attention in its country of origin. It might be a hard sell in the English-speaking world, but a similar name like Torben or Torsten — or even just Tor — could function as a substitute.

Mathúin means "bear" in Irish Gaelic. As Mathghamhain, this was the name of a brother of the Irish king Brian Boru.

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.

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

Too close in sound to the so-far-out-it-will-always-be-out Bernard.

The name of a sixth century Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany, reconstituted for a modern girl.

Berengaria was one of the medieval queens of England - married to Richard I (also known as Richard the Lionheart). She was originally from Navarre (in modern northern Spain) and despite being the Queen of England, she only lived in England after her husband had died. Despite its royal roots, Berengaria is one of the less attractive medieval names, although it gets points for having an unusually strong meaning for a feminine name.

Berangere has never seen much usage in the US, but it has an interesting meaning of "bear spear." The name it stems from—Berengaria—was used as a common royal name during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.