Bernard ranks 1689 with 60 male-leaning registry entries. It's a Germanic name — from bern (bear) + hard (strong, brave) — meaning something like "strong as a bear," which makes it semantically perfect for dogs of any size but especially for the breed most famously associated with the name: the Saint Bernard, whose etymology and identity are inseparable from it.
The Saint Bernard Connection
The Saint Bernard breed was developed by monks at the Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Swiss Alps, and the breed's name comes from the hospice, not from any individual dog. But the breed has been called Bernard colloquially for so long that the name now reads, for most people, as primarily a dog name that happens to also be a human name. The 1992 film Beethoven (featuring a Saint Bernard) refreshed the connection for a new generation, though its protagonist was not named Bernard. Saint Bernards are the obvious breed fit.
The Formal Register and Its Charm
Bernard on a dog reads as formally vintage — it peaked in US human naming around 1920-1940 and has been declining since. That vintage quality is now fashionable in pet naming circles. The nickname Bernie is warmer and more daily-functional, and most dogs named Bernard end up answering to it. Bernie and Clarence share the same mid-century formal register.
The Counter-Read
Bernard is unmistakably a human name from a specific era. On a Saint Bernard it's perfect; on anything else it reads as either a deliberate retro choice or a tribute to a person the owner loves.