Name Bernlef
Gender Masculine
Usage Ancient Germanic, Dutch
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Meaning & History
The first element of this name is derived from Proto-Germanic #beran# or #bernu# "bear" (#bero# and #bern# in Old High German). The second element comes from #laifa#, which in turn is derived from Gothic #laiba# (#leiba# in Old High German and #leifr# in Old Norse) "remnant, remains." By that, they actually meant the person that is left behind after one's death, so #laifa# is best translated (depending on the context) as "heir" or "survivor."