Boucher
A French surname meaning “butcher,” originally an occupational byname.
The #1,791 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,399 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Boucher comes from Old French, where it meant “butcher.” The surname began as an occupational name for someone who sold or slaughtered meat. English surname writers also noted related spellings and forms such as Bowcher, Bosher, and Bocher, reflecting medieval variation in pronunciation and spelling.
History
The name is well known in French-speaking areas and was also carried into England and later North America. In English records, it often appears in Anglicized spellings, and some nineteenth-century surname dictionaries grouped it with Butcher and similar forms. A number of modern bearers in English-speaking countries descend from French or French-Canadian lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century English surname dictionaries sometimes treated Boucher as simply the French equivalent of Butcher.
From the historical record
“called Boutteville. BOUCHER. See Butcher, and Bonrchier. BOUCHERETT. Matthew Boncheret, a descendant of tlie ancient French family of De Boucherat, settled at Willingham, co. Lincoln, and was naturalized in IGii. B.L.G. BOUGHTOK Parishes, &c., In cos. Kent, Norf., Northampt., Notts, Chester, &c. The baronet's…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom