First found in Westmorland, where they had been granted lands by King William for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Sir Theophilus, a Norman knight, who assisted William the Conqueror in the conquest of England was succeeded by his son, Sir Dorbard, who took the surname Bernard. Sir Dorbard's descendants settled at Acornbank in the county of Westmorland, but stayed in good favor with the royalty. It is believed they were descended from Bernardine monks of Furness Abbey. In 1172 King Henry II took Robert Fitz Bernard with him to Ireland, in the invasion of Ireland, and entrusted to his care the counties of Wexford and Waterford.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Abell Barnard, who traveled to Virginia in 1685; Daniel, who came to Maryland in 1732; Catherine, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1819; Benjamin in New York in 1820.

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