Names That Mean Bear

This Welsh name, also used in France, is the name of a 6th century saint who went to Brittany and established abbeys. Armel has a pleasant and familiar sound, making it easily used outside of Wales and France.

Orson is being rediscovered and Orsino is every bit as attractive.

As dated as the old Pat Boone song.

Reversed vowels make it seem less fierce.

Bruin is the Old English term for bear, taken from the Dutch word meaning brown. Bruin might be a sports fan's choice or an animal name in hiding. As a kind of hybrid of Roone and Bruno, it's definitely got some cool.

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

Fierce meaning, gentle image. This name is very common in Israel, where an endearing pet form is Dubi.

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

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

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.

The advantage of Orsa over the arguably-more-attractive Ursula is that it breaks the tie to the hideous she-witch of The Little Mermaid. Orsa definitely feels more ready for modern life now that brother name Orson is on the rise.

The first name of famed designer Balenciaga, was also the birth name of Christopher Columbus--aka Cristobal Colon. A name still well used in the Hispanic community.

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.

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

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

Also spelled Artūrs, this is one of many international forms of the classic Arthur. Both spellings of the name are popular in Latvia and ranked in the Top 100 in a recent year. Notable bearers include Latvian ice hockey players Artūrs Irbe and Artūrs_Šilovs, Olympic rower Artūrs Garonskis, and chess player Arturs Neikšāns. In Latvian, the sounds are just slightly gentler than they are in the English pronunciation.

Corsican form of Ursus

This evocative Spanish surname would make an unusual but lively choice for a girl.

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