Names with "animal" in Meaning

Adalbern m Germanic
Derived from the Old German elements adal "noble" and bern "bear".

Alfbern m Germanic
Derived from the Old German elements alb "elf" and bern "bear".

Armel m Breton, 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.

Ásbjǫrn m Old Norse
Old Norse name derived from the elements áss "god" and bjǫrn "bear". It is therefore a cognate of Osborn.

Berard m Germanic
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.

Berengar m Germanic
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.

Bernard m English, 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).

Bernuharduz m Old Germanic (Hypothetical)
Proto-Germanic reconstruction of Bernard.

Bjørnar m Norwegian
From the Old Norse elements bjǫrn "bear" and herr "army, warrior". This name was coined in the 19th century.

Fiadh f Irish (Modern)
Means "wild, wild animal, deer" (modern Irish fia) or "respect" in Irish.

Gerben m Dutch
Derived from the Germanic elements ger meaning "spear" and bern meaning "bear".

Hallbjǫrn m Old Norse
Derived from the Old Norse elements hallr "rock" and bjǫrn "bear".

Mathgamain m Old 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.

Oddbjørn m Norwegian
From the Old Norse name Oddbjǫrn, derived from the elements oddr "point of a sword" and bjǫrn "bear".

Orson m English
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.

Phocas m Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Φωκᾶς (Phokas), which meant "seal (animal)" from Greek φώκη (phoke). This was the name of an early saint and martyr from Asia Minor. Sentenced to death for being a Christian, he is said to have given his killers lodging and then dug his own grave before he was executed.

Qurban m Urdu, Azerbaijani
From Arabic قربان (qurban) meaning "sacrifice, sacrificial animal". It is associated with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which features the ritual sacrifice of an animal.

Torbjörn m Swedish
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".

Vebjørn m Norwegian
From the Old Norse name Vébjǫrn, derived from the elements vé "holy" and bjǫrn "bear".

Warren m English
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).