Ber

בער

• Gender: Male
• Origin: Yiddish
• Meaning: bear

• Ber is the Yiddish word for "bear," and it was a beloved name in the shtetls of Eastern Europe. It was often paired with the Hebrew name Dov, which carries the same meaning, giving a child both a Yiddish and Hebrew identity at once. The great Hasidic leader Dov Ber of Mezeritch, the Maggid who succeeded the Baal Shem Tov, made this name legendary in Jewish spiritual life.

  One syllable of pure, old-world Yiddish strength — short, sturdy, and surprisingly cool. It evokes a bygone era while sounding completely at home on a modern kid. The animal-name trend has brought Fox, Wren, and Bear into nurseries everywhere, but Ber got there centuries ago with deeper roots and better stories.

• Alternate Spellings: Behr
• Hebrew Equivalent:
  Dov
• Potential Sibling Name:
  Bluma
  ,
  Chana
  ,
  Anshel
  ,
  Faivel
• Theme: animals