Bernik
This form is a variant of the surname Bernich.
Origin and meaning
The authors agree that Bernich is a surname of Slovene origin, derived from the Latin personal name Bernardus.
E. Rossoni describes it as very rare, typical of the city of Trieste. He makes it correspond to the Slovene surname Bernik, derived in turn from the Latin Bernardus.
B. Zuanella agrees in noting the Slovene origin and derives it probably from the name of the saint Bernardus (Bernardo), following Pavle Merkù (Svetniki v slovenskem imenoslovju, Trieste 1992). He distinguishes two forms of the surname: Bernich/Bernik and Bergnach/Bernjak. He recalls that the suffix -nik tends, in the dialect of the Natisone, to become -njak, as observed in other cases: Tružnik/Tružnjak, Skavnik/Skavnjak, Ožnik/Ožnjak, Gozdnik/Gožnjak, Paludnik/Paludnjak and Dornik/Dornjak.
Variants
Geographic distribution: Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Trieste)
📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)
Sources
This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:
- Zuanella, B. (2006–2009). I cognomi delle Valli del Natisone. Retrieved from https://www.lintver.it
- Rossoni, E. (2002). Origine e storia dei cognomi italiani. Retrieved from https://www.cognomiitaliani.org