I am 14 weeks pregnant with our first child, and I have been having vivid pregnancy dreams about a little child who we call [name]Bear[/name] in my dreams. The dreams are so convincing that we’ve even decided to decorate the nursery with brightly colored bears DP and I both think [name]Bear[/name] would be a cute nickname, but we wouldn’t use it for a given name. I understand that we can call the little one anything we want when they are here, but I was hoping you berries could help me think of ways to get to the nickname “legitimately.”
A bit about our style: we like names that are not too frilly and not too tough. Gender neutral names are fine. Middle name is probably [name]Garnet[/name] if it works with the first name, but we would choose another middle if it didn’t work with an otherwise perfect first name. Last name is hypenated Gn-Ferson.
I think [name]Barrett[/name] would be your best bet. I’ve known male and female Barretts. There is also [name]Berry[/name], though that particular spelling seems rather feminine.
I love [name]Barrett[/name] I think it’s a great name… When I was pregos my doc said our baby looked like a little gummy bear… I was 8 weeks along, so we began referring to the baby as baby bear we named our dd [name]Lola[/name] and call her [name]Lola[/name] [name]Bear[/name] or [name]Bear[/name] [name]Bear[/name] most of the time so the name doesn’t necessarily have to have [name]Bear[/name] on it best of luck!!
We were considering [name]Orson[/name] nn [name]Bear[/name], and think it’s a perfect name to get the nn [name]Bear[/name] from! [name]Barrett[/name] is also a fantastic name, just as long as people don’t mis pronounce it as barrette ie. a little girls hair clip (the only reason why he wasn’t on our list!). The other name you could consider (which actually, i think might go straight onto my list, don’t know why i didn’t think of him before!!) was [name]Barron[/name]! [name]Love[/name] that name, especially with the nickname [name]Bear[/name]!
What about [name]Theodore[/name] nn [name]Teddy[/name]? You could call him [name]Teddy[/name] [name]Bear[/name]. You could do the same with [name]Edward[/name]. [name]Bjorn[/name] is the only other bear name I can think of.
I know a 30-something guy named Urs (the name derives from Latin for [name]Bear[/name]) and he and his wife named their son [name]Bjorn[/name], which I thought was a neat connection. Similar names:
[name]Urso[/name]
[name]Ursino[/name]
[name]Ursula[/name]
[name]Ursa[/name]
I love when people name their kids [name]Bear[/name] or Foxx! My fiance and I we’re just talking about how we love the name [name]Bear[/name] form [name]Bear[/name] Grylls! But a nice alternative might be [name]Barron[/name]? I realize it doesnt mean bear but it has the same sound and bear would be a nick name of it.
I also think for a girl [name]Caroline[/name] or some similar names would work well for Care [name]Bear[/name] / just [name]Bear[/name] by rhyming, if you like that! If you’re OK with the rhyming it opens up a lot of names, I think…[name]Mary[/name], [name]Henry[/name] nn [name]Harry[/name], more that I’m drawing a blank on. Good luck!
I have to second the rhyming idea (not that I don’t like the bear derivative names!). People I know with bear nicknames are like [name]Sarah[/name] (Sar-bear, or just bear) and [name]Claire[/name] ([name]Claire[/name]-bear).
I am currently a nanny to a 3-year-old boy whose middle name is [name]Bear[/name]. [name]Love[/name] it! Also, I agree with the pp that [name]Auberon[/name] [name]Garnet[/name] is great.
[name]Baron[/name]/[name]Barron[/name] is a very handsome name as well, [name]IMO[/name]!!
I also wanted to chime in with two HUGE thumbs up for [name]Auberon[/name] [name]Garnet[/name]. I absolutely love the name [name]Auberon[/name]. And [name]Bear[/name] works perfectly as a nickname.
[name]Ari[/name] means “bear” and “gold” in Albanian and “eagle” in Hebrew. Three great meanings! I have a 3-year old [name]Ari[/name] we call [name]Bear[/name] or [name]Ari[/name]-bear.
The nn [name]Bear[/name] is great for a boy. I have a good friend [name]Karen[/name] who I call Kare-[name]Bear[/name] (it fits well because she is a very caring person), so if its a girl you could name her something that starts with Kar-. I like the suggestion [name]Barron[/name]. I’ve known one [name]Barron[/name]. I also think of [name]Bear[/name] [name]Bryant[/name], the famous football coach, so it really could work as a first name. Did you know the name [name]Arthur[/name] is the Celtic word for [name]Bear[/name]? [name]Bernard[/name] “strong, brave bear”, Macmahon means “son of the bear”. For a girl, [name]Orsa[/name] or [name]Ursula[/name] means “little-she-bear”. Let us know what you decide, I’m curious what you will end up going with
PS. [name]Bernhart[/name] is the [name]German[/name] form of [name]Bernard[/name] with the same meaning of “strong, brave as a bear”. Thought it sounded cool
I love [name]Bear[/name] as a nickname. My first reaction is [name]Arthur[/name] because [name]Arthur[/name] is always associated with a bear. The meaning and origin are uncertain but one theory is that it comes from the British (pre-[name]Roman[/name] people who lived in [name]Britain[/name]) art meaning bear. The Behind The Name page for the name has this listed as a possible source, Nameberry lists it as the only source. It’s a little different for a source of nicknames, but my history/literature student mind goes directly to [name]Arthur[/name].
Of the other choices mentioned, I love [name]Barrett[/name] and [name]Oberon[/name]/[name]Auberon[/name] as sources for [name]Bear[/name]. What a wonderful way to find inspiration!
•Barend
•Orry/[name]Orrie[/name] – French name meaning [name]Bear[/name]
•Barrington
Also, I thought it might be cute to use/reference the name of a fictional bear. These names might be a little too cutesy but there’s some potential!
•Baloo – from Jungle Book
•Paddington
•[name]Rupert[/name] – childrens’ books character
•[name]Winnie[/name] – from [name]Winnie[/name] the Pooh – probably not a good candidate but maybe loosely connect it by using a name that starts with “[name]Win[/name]-”?
•[name]Brown[/name] – from the classic, [name]Brown[/name] [name]Bear[/name], [name]Brown[/name] [name]Bear[/name]…
Other fictional bears that I can’t say I’ve ever heard of:
•[name]Misha[/name] or Mishka
•[name]Knut[/name] – the [name]Berlin[/name] zoo’s famous polar bear
•[name]Ivan[/name]
•[name]Basil[/name]
•[name]Sebastian[/name]
•[name]Gordon[/name]
•[name]Ben[/name]
•[name]Oliver[/name]
•[name]Jasper[/name]
•Brer
•[name]Bruin[/name]
I’m a huge fan of the name [name]Bear[/name] as a stand-alone first name!
DP and I both think [name]Bear[/name] would be a cute nickname, but we wouldn’t use it for a given name. I understand that we can call the little one anything we want when they are here, but I was hoping you berries could help me think of ways to get to the nickname “legitimately.”
we named our dd [name]Lola[/name] and call her [name]Lola[/name] [name]Bear[/name] or [name]Bear[/name] [name]Bear[/name] most of the time so the name doesn’t necessarily have to have [name]Bear[/name] on it