Boy · #6,056 in 2026

Bard

Name: Popularity of the name Bard in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Bard, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.

Current Rank

#6,056

Peak Rank

#2,621 (1970)

Total Babies

218

5-Yr Trend

Stable

1920

First Year

1979

Last Year

1970

Peak Year

#2621

Peak Rank

218

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Bard

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Etymology

The English term bard is a loanword from the Celtic languages : Gaulish : bardo- ('bard, poet'), Middle Irish : bard and Scottish Gaelic : bàrd ('bard, poet'), Middle Welsh : bardd ('singer, poet'), Middle Breton : barz ('minstrel'), Old Cornish : barth ('jester'). The ancient Gaulish * bardos is attested as bardus ( sing. ) in Latin and as bárdoi ( plur. ) in Ancient Greek. It also appears as a stem in the compound words bardo-cucullus ('bard's hood'), bardo-magus ('field of the bard'), barditus (a song to fire soldiers), and in bardala (' crested lark ', a singing bird). All of these terms c

Origin & history

The Bard ( c. 1817 ), by John Martin In the words of the Oxford English Dictionary , the bards were an "ancient Celtic order of minstrel-poets, whose primary function appears to have been to compose and sing (usually to the harp) verses celebrating the achievements of chiefs and warriors, and who committed to verse historical and traditional facts, religious precepts, laws, genealogies, etc." In medieval Gaelic and Welsh society, a bard ( Scottish and Irish Gaelic) or bardd ( Welsh ) was a professional poet, employed to compose elegies for his lord . If the employer failed to pay the proper am

The Story of Bard

Bard first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1920, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1970, when 13 Bards were born — ranking #2,621 that year. As of 2026, Bard ranks #6,056 for baby boys with 5 births, with steady use. In total, more than 218 Bards have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1920s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Bard

Phonetically similar names — useful when Bard is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Barred
Barde
Baard
Board
Bored
Bord
Borde
Bowered
Beard
Bart
Bared
Beared

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bard

What does the name Bard mean?

How popular is Bard in 2026?

In 2026, Bard ranks #6,056 among boys' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year.

When was Bard most popular?

Bard reached its peak popularity in 1970, ranking #2,621 that year with 13 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Bard most popular?

Bard has historically been most popular in California. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Bard.

Is Bard a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Bard is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Bard?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Bard include Math, Eliza, Swen. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Bard

Bard is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1920 and has accumulated 218 births in the dataset. Bard's peak popularity came in 1970 when it ranked #2,621. Use the chart and map above to compare Bard's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.