Barth
A short form of Bartholomew, ultimately meaning “son of Talmai” in biblical tradition.
The #2,474 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,177 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Barth is a clipped or reduced form of Bartholomew, used as a personal name and then inherited as a surname. The biblical name Bartholomew is traditionally explained as coming from Aramaic patronymic elements meaning “son of Talmai.” In surname use, Barth often arose as a nickname or shortened form for someone called Bartholomew.
History
The surname appears in English and Continental records as a reduced form of Bartholomew and in some cases as a stand-alone baptismal surname. Nineteenth-century surname dictionaries explicitly cross-reference Barth to Bartholomew, and related forms such as Bartlett, Bart, Bates, and Batty are part of the same larger family of names. It is especially familiar in German-speaking areas as well as in English records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same naming family also produced many familiar surnames with very different shapes, including Bartlett, Bates, Batson, and Batty.
From the historical record
“king's subjects, either at law or otherwise. BARTH. See Bartholomew. BARTHELEMY. See Bartholomew. BARTHOLO^IEW. A well-known Christian name, which, besides having itself become a surname, has given rise to many others, viz. : Barthelemy, Earth, Bartlett, Barttelot, Bartle, and Bartie ; also, through its nicltcd…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom