Do you have a strong reaction to bears? Some people fear the sight of them while others are drawn to them. For some people, the sight of cubs playing elicits smiles and laughter. Or, you might be nervous about mama bear lurking nearby. Or, maybe bears put you in mind of that wonderful childhood friend, the teddy bear!
If you are a bear lover, there are numerous bear-themed names that make excellent names for a dog.
What You Need to Know about Bears
There are three kinds of bears found in North America: the American black bear (which isn’t always black); the grizzly or brown bear; and the polar bear. The black bear can be shades of black, brown, or white at times. It is found in 40 of the 50 United States and in all of the provinces and territories of Canada except Prince Edward Island. This species is not endangered and its numbers are increasing. While black bears are a respectable size (200-300 pounds), they usually are the smallest of the three kinds of bears found in North America. However, some black bears can be very large, weighing up to 800 pounds.
Grizzly bears are found in the mountain west of the United States – Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. They are also found in British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories in Canada. Along coastal areas, grizzly bears are often called brown bears or Kodiak bears. Male grizzly bears usually weigh between 300-650 pounds, but this can vary.
Because of their coat colors, which can be similar in some animals, and the overlap in their sizes, it can be difficult to tell the difference between an American black bear and a grizzly at times.
Polar bears live in the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway, and Greenland. There are currently estimated to be between 22,000-25,000 polar bears in the world and their population is considered to be stable. They are considered to be a “vulnerable” species. Male polar bears can weigh nearly 1000 pounds.
While you probably won’t see a polar bear in the lower 48 states, it’s not uncommon for hikers and others to see bears. Visitors to national parks may see them or, if you live in wooded areas or even near farmland, bears may roam around. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has many sightings of American black bears each year. Some bears even break into cars and cabins, looking for snacks.
The Bear Personality
People who understand bears say that they are intelligent, social creatures. They are gentle and tolerant – at least with other bears. Mother bears are protective, devoted, and affectionate with their cubs. Cubs and even older bears enjoy playing. Bears have a hierarchy for social behavior. They are also said to be able to distinguish between human behavior that is threatening or non-threatening.
Bears have very strong senses, with an excellent sense of smell and hearing. They can see in color and have vision similar to human vision. They are also fast and powerful.
Bear Names
If you have a dog that has some of these bear-like qualities or that reminds you of a bear in some way, there are many good names you can choose.
| Arcadia or Arcadius | Derived from the Greek word Arktos which means bear |
| Arktos | In Greek, it means bear |
| Armel | From Arthmael, Old Breton for bear chief or warrior prince |
| Art | Short for Arthur, which in Celtic, means bear-man |
| Artair | The Scottish version of the Celtic name Arthur |
| Arthfael | Welsh form of Arthmael |
| Arthmael | Means bear chief in Old Breton |
| Arthur | Means bear man, also means strong as a bear |
| Artie | Pet form of Arthur |
| Arto or Arttu | The Finnish version of Artie |
| Artorius | Latin form of Arthur |
| Artturi | Finnish form of Arthur |
| Artur | Early English form of Arthur |
| Arturas | Lithuanian version of Arthur |
| Arturo | Spanish and Italian form of Arthur |
| Åsbjörn | Means divine bear in Swedish |
| Avonaco | Cheyenne, lean bear |
| Barney | English pet form of Bernard |
| Bearnard | Gaelic form of Bernard |
| Benat | Basque form of Bernard |
| Beornheard | An Anglo-Saxon version of Bernard |
| Beowulf | A metaphorical expression in Old English that means bear |
| Ber | Yiddish name that means bear |
| Bera | Means she-bear in German |
| Berdine | Shortened form of Bernardine, the feminine version of Bernard in French |
| Berend | Low German form of Bernhard |
| Berengar | Italian name meaning bear-spear, derived from the Latin name Berengarius |
| Berengaria | Feminine form of Berengarius |
| Berengarius | Latin, bear-spear |
| Berenger | Old French form of Berengarius |
| Beringar | In Old German, “ber” means bear and “ger” means spear, hence the name means bear-spear |
| Bernadette | Feminine form of Bernard |
| Bernadine or Bernardine | Means bold as a bear, feminine form of Bernard |
| Bernard | Means bold as a bear in Anglo-Saxon and Norman French |
| Bernardino | Italian pet form for Bernardo |
| Bernardita | Spanish feminine version of Bernardo |
| Bernardo | Spanish and Italian form of Bernardus |
| Bernardus | Latin form of Bernhard |
| Bernat | Catalan form of Bernardus |
| Bernd or Berndt | Low German name meaning bold as a bear |
| Bernhard or Bernhardt | Old High German name meaning bold as a bear |
| Bernie | English pet form of Bernard |
| Bernou | Dutch, sacred female bear |
| Bernat | Hungarian form of Bernhard |
| Biorna | Gaelic name meaning bear |
| Bjarne | The modern form of Bjorn, also means bear |
| Bjarni | Icelandic form of Bjorn |
| Bjorn | Old Norse name meaning bear |
| Björne | Swedish pet form of Björn |
| Chyanne | Means loving bear |
| Cinnamon | In reference to the cinnamon bear, a subspecies of the American Black Bear |
| Dov | It means bear in Yiddish and Hebrew |
| Duroj | Albanian, bear |
| Enyeto | Miwok, it refers to someone who walks like a bear |
| Espen | The Swedish name meaning divine bear, derived from Old Norse Ásbjorn |
| Glacier | In reference to the glacier bear, a subspecies of the American Black Bear that has gray or silver-blue hair |
| Gobi | A brown bear, this species is found only in the Gobi desert |
| Grizzly | In reference to the grizzly bear, which has a grizzled fur color |
| Honaw | Hopi, tbear |
| Ibatu | Maltese word for bear |
| Iomair | Scots-Gaelic, bear |
| K’eyush | Inuit, bear cub |
| Kuma | Japanese, bear |
| Kuruk | Pawnee, bear |
| Mahon | Derived from the Irish Gaelic name Mathuin, it means bear calf |
| Mathuin | From the Old Gaelic Mathghamhain, the name means bear calf |
| Matoskah | In Sioux, the name refers to a white bear |
| Mecho | In Bulgarian, this is a pet name for a teddy bear |
| Monarch | A Californian wild grizzly bear |
| Nadine | German, the courage of a bear |
| Nanook or Nanuk | In Eskimo mythology, it refers to the master of bears; also means polar bear in Inuit |
| Nita | It means bear in Native American Choctaw |
| Nokoski | It means bear in Seminole |
| Orsina | Female form of Orsino, an Italian name that means bear-like |
| Orsino | From the Latin Ursinus |
| Orso | Italian form of Ursus, the Roman Latin word for bear |
| Orsola | Means she-bear in Italian, from the Latin name Ursula |
| Orsolya | Hungarian form of Ursula |
| Orson | Derived from Old Norman French, it means little bear or bear cub |
| Osbeorn | Anglo-Saxon name meaning divine bear |
| Osbourne | A variant of Osborn |
| Otso | Finnish, bear |
| Ours | French, bear |
| Panda | Giant pandas also belong to the same family as bears |
| Preben | Shortened form of the Danish name Predbjørn |
| Predbjørn | A Danish name that means magnificent bear |
| Sapata | Miwok, dancing bear |
| Sun | The Sun Bear is found in Southeast Asian forests |
| Taqukaq | Inuit, grizzly bear |
| Tarben | Old Norse, it means Thor’s bear or thunder bear |
| Thorben or Thorbern | Danish name derived from Tarben, also means Thor’s bear |
| Thorbjorn | Norwegian variant of Thorbern |
| Thorburn | Scottish variant of Thorbern |
| Tureti | Lithuanian, bear |
| Turi | Spanish and Celtic, bear |
| Uffo | German, wild bear |
| Urola | Russian, little bear |
| Urs | From the Latin Ursus, the German name that means bear |
| Ursa | Shortened form of Ursula |
| Ursala or Ursula | Latin, it means little she-bear |
| Ursel | German form of Ursula |
| Ursella | English variant form of Ursula |
| Ursina or Ursine | Variant of Ursula |
| Ursinus | Derived from the Latin word Ursus, it is a Roman name that means bear-like |
| Ursus | Derived from Ursus, it is a Roman name that means bear |
| Uschi | A German name that means little she-bear, the pet form of Ursel |
| Uzumati | Native American Miwok, grizzly bear |
| Vorsila | Greek, bear |
| Wahkoowah | Sioux, charging bear |
| Wyborn | Scandinavian, war bear |
| Yona | Cherokee, bear |
Saying Bear in European Languages
Many of these “bear” words from other languages would make interesting and unique names.
| Language | Ways to say bear |
| Albanian | duroj |
| Basque | bear |
| Bosnian | snositi |
| Catalan | suportar |
| Croatian | snositi |
| Czech | medvěd |
| Danish | bjørn |
| Dutch | beer |
| Estonian | kandma |
| Finnish | karhu |
| French | ours |
| Galician | soportar |
| German | Bär |
| Greek | αρκούδα
(arkoúda) |
| Hungarian | medve |
| Icelandic | Bera |
| Irish | iompróidh |
| Italian | orso |
| Latvian | paciest |
| Lithuanian | turėti |
| Macedonian | носат |
| Maltese | iġorru |
| Norwegian | Bjørn |
| Polish | Niedźwiedź |
| Portuguese | Urso |
| Romanian | urs |
| Russian | медведь
(medved’) |
| Serbian | медвед
(medved) |
| Slovak | medveď |
| Slovenian | nosi |
| Spanish | oso |
| Swedish | Björn |
| Ukrainian | нести
(nesti) |
| Welsh | arth |
Saying Bear in Asian Languages
| Language | Ways to say bear |
| Azerbaijani | ayı |
| Hmong | dais |
| Uzbek | ayiq |
| Vietnamese | chịu |
Saying Bear in African Languages
| Language | Ways to say bear |
| Afrikaans | dra |
| Chichewa | kudzachitira |
| Hausa | kai |
| Igbo | ibu |
| Sesotho | jara |
| Somali | dhali |
| Swahili | kubeba |
| Yoruba | rù |
| Zulu | athwale |
Saying Bear in Austronesian Languages
| Language | Ways to say bear |
| Filipino | madala |
| Indonesian | beruang |
| Javanese | metokake |
| Malagasy | hitondra |
| Malay | menanggung |
| Maori | mau |
Saying Bear in Other Foreign Languages
| Language | Ways to say bear |
| Esperanto | toleri |
| Haitian Creole | pote |
| Latin | Ursa |
Famous bears
You can probably think of many famous bears. Here are some that we thought of. Some of these names would be very cute as dog names.
Smokey Bear
Fozzie Bear
Yogi Bear
Baboo (The Jungle Book)
Winnie The Pooh
Knut The Polar Bear
Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs or some of their players, if you are a sports fan
Memphis Grizzlies or some of their players, if you are a basketball fan
Conclusion
If you have a dog that reminds you of a strong, powerful bear in some way, why not consider one of these names? You could go old school and choose a name from history that means “bear.” Or, choose a unique name from another language that will have your friends scratching their heads! Whatever you choose, bears have many fascinating qualities and we hope that you and your dog find the perfect name.
