ArcturusmAstronomy From Ancient Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος (Arktouros), the name of the fourth brightest star in the sky, part of the constellation Boötes. It means "guardian of the bear", derived from ἄρκτος (arktos) meaning "bear" and οὖρος (ouros) meaning "guardian", referring to the star's position close to the constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major.
ArkadiosmAncient Greek From an ancient Greek name meaning "of Arcadia". Arcadia was a region in Greece, its name deriving from ἄρκτος (arktos) meaning "bear". This was the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr.
ArmelmBreton, French Breton and French form of the Old Welsh name Arthmail, which was composed of the elements arth "bear" and mael "prince, chieftain". This was the name of a 6th-century Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany.
BeowulfmAnglo-Saxon Mythology Possibly means "bee wolf" (in effect equal to "bear") from Old English beo "bee" and wulf "wolf". Alternatively, the first element may be beadu "battle". This is the name of the main character in the anonymous 8th-century epic poem Beowulf. Set in Denmark, the poem tells how he slays the monster Grendel and its mother at the request of King Hroðgar. After this Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats. The conclusion of the poem tells how Beowulf, in his old age, slays a dragon but is himself mortally wounded in the act.
BermYiddish Means "bear" in Yiddish, a vernacular form of Dov.
BerardmGermanic Variant of Bernard using the related root bero "bear" as the first element. This was the name of a 13th-century saint from Carbio, Italy who was martyred in Morocco.
BerengarmGermanic Old German name derived from the elements bern "bear" and ger "spear". This was the name of two medieval kings of Italy and a Holy Roman emperor.
BernardmEnglish, French, Dutch, Polish, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Germanic Derived from the Old German element bern "bear" combined with hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Beornheard. This was the name of several saints, including Saint Bernard of Menthon who built hospices in the Swiss Alps in the 10th century, and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th-century theologian and Doctor of the Church. Other famous bearers include the Irish playwright and essayist George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and the British World War II field marshal Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976).
GarseamMedieval Spanish Meaning unknown, possibly related to the Basque word hartz meaning "bear". This was the name of several medieval kings of Navarre and Leon.
GerbenmDutch Derived from the Germanic elements ger meaning "spear" and bern meaning "bear".
HumbertmFrench, German (Rare), English (Rare), Germanic Derived from the Old German elements hun "bear cub" and beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to England, though it has always been uncommon there. It was the name of a 7th-century Frankish saint who founded Maroilles Abbey. It was also borne by two kings of Italy (called Umberto in Italian), who ruled in the 19th and 20th centuries. A notable fictional bearer is Humbert Humbert from Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita (1955).
HumphreymEnglish From the Old German elements hun "bear cub" and fridu "peace". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Hunfrith, and it was regularly used through the Middle Ages. A famous bearer was the American actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), who starred in The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.
KallistofGreek Mythology, Ancient Greek Derived from Greek κάλλιστος (kallistos) meaning "most beautiful", a derivative of καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.
MathmWelsh Mythology Possibly from the old Celtic root *matus meaning "bear". According to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Math ap Mathonwy was a king of Gwynedd and a magician. Whenever he was not at war, it was required that he rest his feet in the lap of a virgin. He was the uncle of the hero Gwydion, with whom he shared most of his adventures.
MathgamainmOld Irish Means "bear" in Old Irish, a compound of math, itself meaning "bear", and gamuin meaning "calf". This was the name of a brother of the Irish king Brian Boru.
NanookmInuit (Anglicized) Variant of Nanuq. This was the (fictional) name of the subject of Robert Flaherty's documentary film Nanook of the North (1922).
OddbjørnmNorwegian From the Old Norse name Oddbjǫrn, derived from the elements oddr "point of a sword" and bjǫrn "bear".
OmbelinefFrench Feminine form of Humbelin, a medieval diminutive of Humbert. The Blessed Humbeline (known as Hombeline or Ombeline in French) was a 12th-century nun, the sister of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
OrsinomItalian (Rare) Italian form of the Roman name Ursinus, itself derived from Ursus (see Urs). This is the name of a duke in Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night (1602).
OrsonmEnglish From a Norman nickname derived from a diminutive of Norman French ors"bear", ultimately from Latin ursus. American actor and director Orson Welles (1915-1985) was a famous bearer of this name.
OsbornmEnglish Derived from the Old English elements os "god" and beorn "warrior, man". During the Anglo-Saxon period there was also a Norse cognate Ásbjǫrn used in England, and after the Norman Conquest the Norman cognate Osbern was introduced. It was occasionally revived in the 19th century, in part from a surname that was derived from the given name.
SwithinmHistory From the Old English name Swiðhun or Swiþhun, derived from swiþ "strong" and perhaps hun "bear cub". Saint Swithin was a 9th-century bishop of Winchester.
TorbjörnmSwedish From the Old Norse name Þórbjǫrn, which meant "Thor's bear" from the name of the Norse god Þórr (see Thor) combined with bjǫrn "bear".
UmbertomItalian Italian form of Humbert. A famous bearer was Italian author Umberto Eco (1932-2016).
UrsmGerman (Swiss) German form of the Latin name Ursus, which meant "bear". Saint Ursus was a 3rd-century soldier in the Theban Legion who was martyred with Saint Victor. He is the patron saint of Solothurn in Switzerland.
UrsafLate Roman Feminine form of Ursus. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
UrsulafEnglish, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Late Roman Means "little bear", derived from a diminutive form of the Latin word ursa "she-bear". Saint Ursula was a legendary virgin princess of the 4th century who was martyred by the Huns while returning from a pilgrimage. In England the saint was popular during the Middle Ages, and the name came into general use at that time.
WinniefEnglish Diminutive of Winifred. Winnie-the-Pooh, a stuffed bear in children's books by A. A. Milne, was named after a real bear named Winnipeg who lived at the London Zoo.
YonaguskamCherokee Means "drowning bear" from Cherokee ᏲᎾ (yona) "bear" and possibly ᎫᏂᏍᎧ (guniska) "drown". This was the name of a 19th-century Eastern Cherokee chief.