Bieber
A German surname meaning “beaver,” likely first used as a nickname or as a name tied to the animal’s traits.
The #7,717 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,785 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bieber comes from German Biber, “beaver,” ultimately from the same Germanic root as English beaver. As a surname, it was most likely first given either as a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way or, in some cases, from a place-name containing the word. The name can also be associated with German compound surnames and place names such as Bieberstein.
History
The name is well attested in German-speaking areas and also appears among Pennsylvania German families in the United States. Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname writers regularly treated Bieber as the German equivalent of English Beaver. Its spread into English-language records reflects immigration and the anglicizing of German surnames rather than an independent English origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname studies, Bieber is often grouped with a whole cluster of German animal surnames that sound straightforward in modern German but can conceal older local spellings in records.
From the historical record
“Bidwell, 371, 372, 373. Bie, 35. Bieber, 425. Bieler, 425. Bienvenu, 131. Bier, 28.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)