Booher
Likely an occupational surname from a word for “butcher,” with spelling shaped by later Anglicization.
The #5,075 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,746 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname appears to come from an occupational word meaning “butcher.” The historical note you provided links it to Middle English forms related to French boucher and to butcher-like spellings such as Batcher, suggesting that Booher is a later Anglicized or phonetic variant of that occupational line. In short, the name probably began as a label for someone who worked as a butcher or in a similar meat-selling trade.
History
The name is found in English-speaking records and later appears in North America, where spelling variation was common and surnames were often adjusted to local pronunciation. The excerpt specifically places Booher alongside other butcher-related surname forms, which supports an occupational origin rather than a place-name or patronymic one. Today it is an established but relatively uncommon surname in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
This surname is a good example of how a job title could survive for centuries as a family name, even as its spelling shifted from place to place.
From the historical record
“London. >, 7 ; Philadelpliia, 5, 3. Booher.— Occup. 'the butcher'; H.E. bochtr; v. Boucher and Batcher. RichinlleBo(Bnr, CO. Somi., I Eiw. HI: Kirt)y'iQac(t,p. i6f.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances