Names That Mean Bear

Artie is usually short for Arthur, but with boyish nicknames like Billie and Frankie rising it may be time to consider Artie for a girl too. Artie works as a sweet retro tomboy name, a possible nickname for Artemis or Arlette, and a way to honor Grandpa Arthur.

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.

Unusual multicultural choice that may appeal to the artistically inclined. The bear meaning gives it a new trendy edge as an animal name.

This Latinate form of Bernard hovered in the lower regions of the US Top 1000 from the late 1940s until 2006, possibly inspired by the character in West Side Story. It remains popular in Portugal and it does have a little more flair than the grandpa style Bernard.

The adorable animal name made its way into the baby name pool when Macklemore used it as the middle name for his daughter Colette in 2018.

Strong and unusual Nordic name that would make a cool addition to the N-ending boy name trend.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Espn was first recorded as a girl name in 2015, eleven years after it was first used for boys. It's considered a variation of the Scandinavian male name Espen, although its use can be attributed to the cable sports channel ESPN, which stands for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.

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

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

Corsican form of Ursus

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

The oldest, true original form of Björn, now obsolete.

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.