Bernese Mountain Dogs are big, gentle farm dogs from the Swiss Alps, known for their striking black, white and rust tricolor coats and their sweet, easygoing nature. The breed comes from the canton of Bern in Switzerland, where farmers used these strong dogs to pull carts of milk and cheese, drive cattle and watch over the farm. In Switzerland they’re called the Berner Sennenhund, and they’re one of four Swiss mountain dog breeds.
Here are more than 100 Bernese Mountain Dog names, sorted by theme, from boy and girl favorites to Swiss names, names inspired by Swiss places and mountains, delicious Swiss food names, big names for a gentle giant, and names that honor the breed’s Alpine farm heritage.
Jump to: Boy names for Bernese Mountain Dogs · Girl names for Bernese Mountain Dogs · Swiss names for Bernese Mountain Dogs · Names inspired by Swiss places and mountains · Swiss food names · Gentle giant and Alpine heritage names
Boy names for Bernese Mountain Dogs
Berner boys are huge, loyal and gentle as can be. These names suit a big dog with an even bigger heart.
- Bear: big and cuddly
- Moose: large and lovable
- Bruno: brown
- Gus: great
- Winston: joyful stone
- Murphy: sea warrior
- Tucker: cloth fuller
- Otis: wealthy
- Finn: fair
- Oliver: olive tree
- Bentley: meadow clearing
- Cooper: barrel maker
- Duke: leader
- Louie: famous warrior
- Teddy: cuddly bear
- Rocco: rest
- Hank: ruler of the home
Girl names for Bernese Mountain Dogs
Berner girls are affectionate, calm and devoted to their families. These names match their sweet, gentle nature.
- Bella: beautiful
- Luna: moon
- Daisy: cheerful flower
- Willow: graceful tree
- Lucy: light
- Sadie: princess
- Stella: star
- Maggie: pearl
- Molly: star of the sea
- Rosie: rosy and sweet
- Penny: small treasure
- Hazel: hazelnut tree
- Nala: gift
- Ellie: shining light
- Mabel: lovable
- Ivy: faithful
- Olive: peace
Swiss names for Bernese Mountain Dogs
Switzerland has four national languages, German, French, Italian and Romansh, so Swiss names come from many traditions.
- Heidi: noble, the girl from the classic Swiss story
- Tell: William Tell, Switzerland’s legendary hero
- Peter: rock, Heidi’s goat-herding friend
- Klara: bright, Heidi’s friend Clara
- Ursula: little bear, fitting for Bern
- Matthias: gift of God
- Lukas: from Lucania
- Jakob: supplanter
- Anja: grace
- Leni: light
- Elsa: pledged to God
- Gretli: little pearl
- Hansi: God is gracious
- Seppi: Swiss nickname for Josef
- Reto: common Swiss boy’s name
- Mina: love
- Fritzi: peaceful ruler
Names inspired by Swiss places and mountains
From snowy peaks to lakeside cities, Switzerland’s landscape is full of beautiful name ideas.
- Bern: the Swiss capital and the breed’s home canton
- Zurich: Switzerland’s largest city
- Lucerne: lakeside city
- Geneva: city on Lake Geneva
- Basel: city on the Rhine
- Lugano: Italian-speaking lakeside city
- Zermatt: Alpine village below the Matterhorn
- Davos: mountain resort town
- Matterhorn: famous pyramid-shaped peak
- Eiger: famous Bernese Alps peak
- Jungfrau: peak in the Bernese Oberland
- Alps: Switzerland’s mountains
- Thun: lakeside town in the canton of Bern
- Emmental: valley in Bern famous for cheese
- Interlaken: resort town between two lakes
- Oberland: the Bernese highlands
- Aspen: mountain tree
Swiss food names
Switzerland is famous for cheese and chocolate, and Berners once hauled carts of dairy to market. These tasty names are a sweet tribute.
- Fondue: melted cheese dish
- Raclette: melted cheese scraped onto potatoes
- Rösti: Swiss potato fritter
- Gruyère: Swiss cheese from Fribourg
- Sbrinz: hard Swiss mountain cheese
- Zopf: braided Swiss Sunday bread
- Cocoa: chocolate brown
- Truffle: chocolate treat
- Fudge: sweet chocolate
- Nougat: chewy candy
- Toffee: buttery candy
- Muesli: oat breakfast invented by a Swiss doctor
- Strudel: fruit pastry
- Läckerli: spiced honey cookie from Basel
- Pretzel: twisted bread
- Waffle: sweet treat
- Butterscotch: golden candy
Gentle giant and Alpine heritage names
Berners can weigh up to about 115 pounds, but they’re famously gentle. These names celebrate their size, strength and farm-dog roots.
- Durrbach: the Dürrbach area near Bern where early Berners were found, giving the old name Dürrbächler
- Heim: Albert Heim, the Swiss geologist who championed the breed
- Sennen: Swiss for Alpine herdsman, as in Sennenhund
- Berner: short for Berner Sennenhund
- Yodel: Alpine singing
- Alphorn: traditional Swiss horn
- Cowbell: classic Alpine sound
- Edelweiss: Alpine flower
- Chalet: Swiss mountain cottage
- Cart: Berners pulled carts of milk and cheese
- Dairy: farm work
- Drover: cattle driver
- Titan: giant
- Atlas: strong enough to hold up the sky
- Goliath: giant
- Hercules: strong hero
- Gentle Ben: a gentle giant
Bonus Bernese Mountain Dog names
Still looking? Here are a few more ideas: Archie, Bailey, Charlie, Dexter, Ember, Freya, Ginger, Harley, Juno, Kona, Lola, Marley, Nova, Oakley, Piper, Remy, Toby, Wally, Ziggy, Zeus.
How to choose from these Bernese Mountain Dog names
Spend a few days with your Bernese Mountain Dog before you decide. Is your pup a goofy teddy bear, a calm guardian or a snow-loving adventurer? Berner puppies grow fast, so a name that fits a big adult dog will last longer than one that only suits a tiny fluffball. Try a few favorites at treat time and keep the one that starts that fluffy tail swishing.
- Bernese Mountain Dogs are sensitive and eager to please, so use their name with a warm, happy voice and lots of praise.
- Choose a name that’s easy to say, since you’ll be calling this big, fluffy dog in from the yard many times a day.
- Avoid names that sound like cues such as “no,” “sit” or “down” to keep training simple.
- Once you pick a winner, Get a custom name tag so your gentle giant is easy to identify if they wander off.
Generate more Bernese Mountain Dog names
Want hundreds more ideas? Use our free generator below. It’s preset for dogs, and you can pick a gender, style and color to fine-tune the results. Every name comes with a short meaning.
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Frequently asked questions
What are popular Bernese Mountain Dog names?
Bear, Bella, Moose, Luna, Gus, Daisy, Winston, Willow, Heidi and Bruno are popular Bernese Mountain Dog names.
What is a Bernese Mountain Dog called in Switzerland?
In Switzerland the breed is called the Berner Sennenhund. Berner refers to the canton of Bern, and Sennenhund means dog of the Alpine herdsmen.
What were Bernese Mountain Dogs bred for?
They were all-around farm dogs in the canton of Bern. They pulled carts of milk and cheese to market, drove cattle and guarded the farm.
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