Bear
Top 1000
About Bear
Bear has suddenly lumbered onto the baby name landscape. Perhaps inspired by British adventurer Bear Grylls (born Edward Michael), first celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used it as the middle name for his boy Buddy, and Alicia Silverstone called her son Bear Blu, followed by Kate Winslet's Bear Blaize.
The name Bear is part of a current trend normalizing once aggressive animal names like Wolf, Hawk, and Fox. Bear now ranks in the Top 1000 in both the US and England.
Pronounced BAIR.
As of October 2026, Bear ranked #853 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #763 in 2022, Nameberry popularity #372.
Editor's take: The name Bear is a boy's name of English origin meaning "bear".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,329 | 131 | 68.2 |
| 2015 | #1,320 | 134 | 69.9 |
| 2016 | #1,056 | 187 | 98.5 |
| 2017 | #1,020 | 198 | 107 |
| 2018 | #998 | 207 | 114 |
| 2019 | #897 | 244 | 136 |
| 2020 | #900 | 250 | 144.8 |
| 2021 | #826 | 288 | 164.6 |
| 2022 | #763 | 331 | 189.6 |
| 2023 | #820 | 299 | 174.8 |
| 2024 | #826 | 300 | 174.1 |
| 2025 | #853 | 286 | 167.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Bear.
Bear on lists
Famous Bears
- Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls
English survival expert and TV personality
- Bear Rinehart
lead singer of Christian rock group Needtobreathe
- Paul William "Bear" Bryant
American football coach
- Bear McCreary
American composer and musician
- Bear Blu Jarecki (b. 2011)
son of actress Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki
- Bear Blaze Winslet (b. 2013)
son of actress Kate Winslet and Ned Rocknroll
- Bear Grey Payne (b. 2017)
son of singers Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole
- Everly Bear Kiedis (b. 2007)
son of singer Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver (b. 2010)
son of celeb chefs Jamie and Jools Oliver
- Albert the Bear
first Margrave of Brandenburg
Bear in pop culture
- Bear Savage
character in Patricia Pendergraft's "Miracle at Clement's Pond"