Bogard
A surname likely tied to an old Germanic form meaning “hard” or “strong,” though its exact pathway is uncertain.
The #8,501 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,676 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably connected to an old Germanic word element meaning “hard,” “strong,” or “firm.” The 19th-century scholarship you provided links English Bogard with modern German forms such as Bogert and with French-looking spellings like Bochard and Bohard, suggesting a shared continental Germanic root. Because the evidence is brief and comparative rather than a full entry, the exact derivation and original form should be treated cautiously.
History
Bogard appears to be one of several surnames that shifted across English, French, and German spelling traditions over time. The historical note suggests it was grouped with other “hard/strong” names, which may indicate either a descriptive nickname origin or later spelling adaptation after migration. In the United States it remains an uncommon surname, with a modest modern presence.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname writer grouped Bogard with names built from the idea of “hardness,” showing how early etymologists often compared surnames across languages to guess at their roots.
From the historical record
“COMPOUNDS. {Hard, fortis) Eng. Bogard — Modern German Bogert — French Bochard, Bohard, Pochard. (Man) English BoGMAN, Bowman — Mod. Germ. Bochmann ? (J/ar, famous) Anglo-Saxon Boomer, Bohmer {found in Bocmeres stigele, Bohmeres* stigele) — English Pogmore, Bowmer — French”
— The Teutonic Name-System applied to the family names of France, England and Germany