Bork
A short German surname that likely began as a reduced form of Burkhart/Burckhardt or a related name stem.
The #9,433 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,543 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bork is most plausibly a shortened form of a Germanic personal name, especially Burkhart or a similar Burk- name. One historical source explicitly presents Bork as developing from Burkhart through shorter nickname forms. The ultimate elements behind Burkhart are the old Germanic parts meaning “fortress” or “protection” and “hard, strong.”
History
The name appears in German-language surname studies and is especially associated with German naming patterns that reduced longer given names to short family names. It also shows up in historical records as a German surname borne by military and noble figures. In English-speaking countries, Bork is uncommon and often reflects later immigration from German-speaking regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century onomastic writer grouped Bork with other surnames believed to be shortened forms of older Germanic personal names, alongside names like Bär, Dank, and Fried.
From the historical record
“coln ; o, Humphry. Humphry Ilairez was of Bork?, 1158 (Rot. Pip.). "William Ilerez, 13tli cent., poss.'Sicd estates, ^Vilts. From him descended William Har- rys, one of tho principal inhabitants cf Salisbury, 1400 (Iloare), ancestor”
— The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States