After the high-profile scandals involving first Ebbers and now Madoff, I have to think that the name "Bernard" has seen its last birth certificate for some time.
It's not as if the name – which was in the "Top 100" at the turn of the century – was exactly flourishing before 2002, when the first hints of the WorldCom scandal became known. According to
Social Security name data, the name "Bernard" was already in a slow, steady decline through the 1990s, dropping from the 430th most popular boy's name in 1990, to 496th in 1995, and to 654th in 2000.
The criminal charges of financial fraud brought against Ebbers in 2004 seemed to hasten the decline of "Bernard," as the name, which had plateaued in the mid-700s from 2002 to 2004, suddenly plummeted over 200 spots to 952nd in 2006. The name has held steady since 2006, however, and even climbed back up to 940th in 2008.
Enter Bernard Madoff, who was arrested in December 2008. Madoff has since pleaded guilty to the largest fraud in history and become one of the most reviled criminals ever, with tens of thousands of victims scattered around the globe. The Social Security data only covers the top 1000 names, but I think it is safe to say that following Madoff, the name "Bernard" will drop off that list altogether in 2009, for a good long time.