Barnhart
An Americanized form of the German personal name Bernhard, meaning “brave as a bear.”
The #1,777 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,317 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Barnhart is generally understood as an American spelling form of the German surname Bernhard. The underlying given name comes from Old High German elements meaning “bear” and “hardy, brave, strong,” so the sense is roughly “strong as a bear” or “bear-brave.” In English-speaking countries the spelling shifted to Barnhart, likely by sound and spelling adaptation rather than from a separate English word.
History
The surname appears in German-speaking Europe as Bernhard and was later reshaped in North America into forms such as Barnhart. The 1902 source explicitly equates Barnhart with Bernhard, supporting this as an immigrant-name alteration. Today Barnhart is most common in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Barnhart is one of several surnames whose English-looking spelling hides a clearly German personal-name origin.
From the historical record
“Bare= Baer, Barger=: Berger, Barnhart = Bernhard, Barnet, p. 304 Barnitz, p. 304 Barringer = Behringer, Barshinger = Bertsckinger, Bartel, pp. 304, 309”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names