How popular is the baby name Bernadette in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Bernadette.

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Popularity of the baby name Bernadette


Posts that mention the name Bernadette

Baby girl given 24 names

In November of 1946, various U.S. newspapers ran a story about a recently deceased Seattle man with 17 given names. William Cary, born in Indiana in the mid-1860s, had 16 middle names taken from the surnames of officers his father had served with during the Civil War.

Days after the story was published, Paul A. Henning of Denver, Colorado, welcomed a baby girl. Impressed by William Cary’s long name, Henning decided that his daughter’s name should be even longer. So he gave her 24 names.

Her full name was Mary Ann Bernadette Helen Therese Juanita Oliva Alice Louise Harriet Lucille Henrietta Celeste Corolla Constance Cecile Margaret Rose Eugene Yvonne Florentine Lolita Grace Isabelle Henning.

Sources:

  • “What’s in Name? This Baby Given 24 for a Starter.” Milwaukee Journal 11 Nov. 1946: 1.
  • “Had Plenty of Names.” Beaver Valley Times 1 Nov. 1946: 3.

Baby girl gets 139 names: Tracy Mariclaire Lisa…

John and Margaret Nelson of Chesterfield, England, welcomed a baby girl at the very end of 1985. They named their daughter Tracy, but that’s not all they named her. This is Tracy’s full name:

Tracy Mariclaire Lisa Tammy Samantha Christine Alexandra Candy Bonnie Ursala Zoe Nichola Patricia Lynda Kate Jean Sandra Karren Julie Jane Elizabeth Felicity Gabriella Jackie Corina Constance Arabella Clara Honor Geraldine Fiona Erika Fillippa Anabel Elsie Amanda Cheryl Alanna Louisa Angie Beth Crystal Dawn Debbie Eileen Grace Susan Rebecca Valerie Kay Lena Margaret Anna Amy Carol Bella Avril Ava Audry Andrea Daphne Donna Cynthia Cassie Christabel Vivien Wendy Moira Jennifer Abbie Adelaide Carrissa Carla Anne Astrid Barbara Charissa Catalina Bonny Dee Hazel Iris Anthea Clarinda Bernadette Cara Alison Carrie Angela Beryl Caroline Emma Dana Vanessa Zara Violet Lynn Maggie Pamela Rosemary Ruth Cathlene Alexandrina Annette Hilary Diana Angelina Carrinna Victoria Sara Mandy Annabella Beverly Bridget Cecilia Catherine Brenda Jessica Isbella Delilah Camila Candace Helen Connie Charmaine Dorothy Melinda Nancy Mariam Vicki Selina Miriam Norma Pauline Toni Penny Shari Zsa-zsa Queenie Nelson

That’s 139 given names and 1 surname.

Why did John and Margaret do this to their daughter? According to John, “We just wanted to give her something for when she grows up.”

A reason that makes complete sense, of course.

Speaking of things that make sense, let’s pick out some of the needless repetition:

  • Alexandra (#7) and Alexandrina (#103)
  • Amanda (#36) and Mandy (#111)
  • Angela (#89), Angie (#40) and Angelina (#107)
  • Anna (#33), Anne (#74) and Annette (#104)
  • Bella (#56), Annabella (#112), Arabella (#27) and Isbella (#119)
  • Bonnie (#9) and Bonny (#79)
  • Candace (#122) and Candy (#8)
  • Carrissa (#72) and Charissa (#77)
  • Clara (#28) and Clarinda (#84)
  • Constance (#26) and Connie (#124)
  • Corina (#25) and Carrinna (#108)
  • Elizabeth (#21) and Beth (#41)
  • Margaret (#52) and Maggie (#98)
  • Mariam (#129) and Miriam (#131)
  • Victoria (#109) and Vicki (#130)
  • Zara (#95) and Sara (#110)

If you could go back in time and rename this baby, which two names (out of the 139) would you choose as her first and middle names?

Source: “Tracy for short.” Reading Eagle 24 Jan 1986: 1.

Girl names for parents who don’t like girl names

Some parents see names like Angelina, Isabella, and Olivia and think, “I’m not going to bother weeding through these frilly, dainty names on the off chance I find a good one. Forget it. I’m gonna flip ahead to the boy names.”

What these parents might not realize, though, is that there are plenty of strong, non-girlie girl names out there. Here are three types I’ve come up with.

Girl Names with Boyish Nicknames

A boy name wrapped in a girl name — the best of both worlds. Most of the full names below are based on boy names, so they simply shorten to the same pet forms.

Alex – Alexandra
Andy – Andrea, Miranda
Bernie – Bernadette
Cal – Calista, Calla
Clem – Clementine
Dan – Danielle
Ernie – Ernestine
Frank – Frances
Gerry – Geraldine
Gus – Augusta		Jack – Jacqueline
Jo – Josephine, Johanna
Max – Maxine
Mo – Monique, Maureen
Nick – Nicole, Monica, Veronica
Rick – Erica
Rob – Roberta
Sal – Salome, Sarah
Tony – Antonia
Will – Wilhelmina

Girl Names with Lots of Consonants

Girl names with at least as many consonants as vowels tend to sound much more serious than vowel-laden girl names. Especially if they end with a consonant (or a consonant-sound).

Adele*
Agnes
Alice
Ardith
Astrid
Blanche
Bridget
Brooke
Carmen
Claire*		Edith
Eleanor*
Elizabeth
Enid
Esther
Gertrude
Gretchen
Harriet
Helen
Hester		Imogene*
Ingrid
Jane
Janet
Jill
Joan
Judith
Katherine
Laurel
Mabel		Margaret
Marion
Maude*
Megan
Meredith
Nadine
Rachel
Ruth
Sibyl
Tamar

*Technically, these names have more vowels than consonants. But it doesn’t sound like they do, and that’s the important part.

Girl Names with Unusual Letters/Sounds

Unusual things command your attention. They may seem odd, but, because they stand out, they also tend to seem bold.

Beatrix
Beulah
Eugenia
Eunice
Gwyneth
Hazel		Izora
Maeve
Tirzah
Tallulah
Ursula
Violet		Winifred
Winona
Yolanda
Zelda
Zenobia
Zillah

What other types of girl names would you add to this list?

Baby name needed: Name for sibling of Lorna, Zacharias & Louis

A reader named Maisie is expecting her fourth child (gender unknown) and she’d like some help coming up with names. Her first three children are named Lorna, Zacharias (Zach) and Louis. Here are the names Maisie and her husband have been considering:

Anastasia
Caitlin
Catya
Eva-May
Lara
Lena
Marlena
Willa-May
Winefred		Alfred
Arthur
Freddie
Joshua
Laurence
Leo
Myro

An intriguing mix, isn’t it?

Even before reading the list, though, my very first thought was: L-names should probably be avoided. I like the four L-names on the shortlist–Laurence especially–but I would hate for Zach to feel like the odd one out.

Another thought I had was: How about an A-name or a B-name? The current first letters come from the middle, end, and middle of the alphabet, respectively, so why not swing back to the beginning? A pendular name pattern. It might be a silly idea, but there it is. Along these lines I like Anastasia, Alfred and Arthur (all great names) and maybe also: Abraham (Abe), Ada, Alice, Amelia, Antonia, Archibald (Archie), Barney, Benjamin, Bernadette and Bernard.

Now, getting past this talk of patterns…

I really like Marlena, Caitlin, Winefred and Freddie. But I prefer the spelling Winifred, and I think Freddie would be even better as a nickname for something like Frederick or Alfred (which is already on the list). I’m so-so on Joshua in this case.

I was caught off guard by Willa-May, Eva-May, Catya and Myro. The first two stood out because of the hyphens, but as soon as I got over the punctuation I realized they’re both very cute. Catya and Myro, though, I’m not as excited about. Catya sounds rather exotic as the sister of, say, Lorna. (I’m also not used to seeing it spelled with a C.) And Myro is just exotic in general. I could see Myron or Milo working with this group, but I don’t think Myro fits as well.

Here are a few other ideas:

Dorothy
Florence
Georgia
Greta
Isla
Josephine
Suzanne		Charles
George
Henry
Richard
Roland
Thomas
Walter

Which of the above names do you like best with Lorna, Zach and Louis? What other advice or suggestions would you offer to Maisie?

Update: The baby is here! Scroll down to see what name Maisie chose.