Behr
A German surname that usually goes back to a word for “bear,” sometimes also shaped by forms of the name Bernhard.
The #8,659 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,356 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Behr is most often explained as a German surname from a word meaning “bear,” related to older Germanic forms such as Bern/Bar and to surnames like Bär and Beer. In some cases, it may also reflect shortening or alteration of longer German names beginning with Bern-, especially Bernhard. Because medieval spellings were fluid, the same surname family can sometimes have more than one historical pathway.
History
The name is well attested in German-speaking areas and is found in historical surname lists alongside related forms such as Beer, Bär, and Behren. It also appears in records of German families that later spread into English-speaking countries, where the spelling Behr was often preserved. Early surname scholars linked it to the bear image, a common source of German nicknames and heraldic family names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Behr with other “bear” surnames and even noted that the German explorer's name appears in the very fitting form Behring.
From the historical record
“Bear. N. Bera (a bear) ; A.S. Beor ; D. Bjerre ; D.B. Bere ; Dch., FI. Beer, Behr ; G. Behr ; p.n. Or Baer; a loc. n., Belg.; FI. ref., Lond. 1618 Bearchell. From Bircholt (?) ; a loc. n., Kent Bearcroft. A loc. n.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)