Where does “Bern” come from?

Bern (German) comes from German Bernd, from German Bernhard, from Old High German Bernhart, from Old High German hart, from Proto-West Germanic hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic harduz, from Proto-Indo-European kert-, from Proto-Turkic *keŕ- — to travel, tour.

Ancestry of “Bern”, step by step

Bern traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via German Bernd

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanBerndan anon
2GermanBernhardBernard
3Old High GermanBernhart—
4Old High Germanharthard
5Proto-West Germanichard(ī)hard
6Proto-Germanicharduzhard; brave
7Proto-Indo-Europeankert-times; to weave, twist together; time
8Proto-Turkic*keŕ-to travel, tour

via French berne

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchberneHazing inflicted on someone by tossing into the...
2Frenchbernerto trick, to fool, to take in, to run circles...
3Old Frenchbrenbran
4Gaulishbrennosrotten
5Proto-Celticbragnosrotten
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanbʰreHg-to smell, to have a strong odour

via Alemannic German Bärn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Alemannic GermanBärn—

Words derived from “Bern”

Every word from Proto-Turkic *keŕ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kert- →Every word from Proto-Germanic harduz →