boy's name

Bear

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 1
  • Letters 4
  • Popularity Top 1000 (US)
  • Births on record 4,749

the United States

#854

2025 births

Bear is a boy's name with 1 syllable. In 2025 it was given to 286 babies in the United States, ranking #854. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

  • Peaked in 2022, when 332 babies were given the name.
  • It has been rising over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 11,592 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1975.
  • 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.

Bear over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

1,757
'70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Bear by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1970s 6
1980s 5
1990s 11
2000s 172
2010s 1,405
2020s (to 2025) 1,757

How popular is Bear?

In 2025, Bear was given to 286 babies in the United States, ranking #854 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Where Bear is used

Northern Ireland #355 5 in 2021
England & Wales #361 117 in 2025
Scotland #460 7 in 2024
Ireland #766 4 in 2025
United States #854 286 in 2025
Canada #905 29 in 2024

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Bear

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Bear also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Bear over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Bear

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Bear — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Bear

How popular is the name Bear?

In 2025, Bear was given to 286 babies in the United States, ranking #854 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Is Bear a girl's or a boy's name?

Bear is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Bear?

Bear has 1 syllable.

When was Bear most popular?

Bear peaked in 2022, when 332 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.

Is Bear a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Bear currently ranks #361 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.