Brubaker
A Pennsylvania German surname, probably an Americanized form of a German name built on Brubach/Brubach(er)-type roots.
The #2,934 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,270 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally treated as a Pennsylvania German adaptation of a German surname such as Brubacher, Brubacher/Brubacher-like forms, or a related Brücker/Bruckner cluster in older spelling traditions. The first element likely goes back to a place-name or word for a brook or bridge, while the second element is the common agentive ending -er, meaning someone from or connected with that place. In short, Brubaker is probably an Americanized spelling of a German locational surname rather than an originally English name.
History
Historical surname lists of Pennsylvania German families show Brubaker as one of several names that were reshaped in America from older German forms. The spelling became established in the United States, especially among descendants of German-speaking settlers in Pennsylvania and nearby regions. Because the early sources are comparing it with several similar German names, the exact original form is not entirely certain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early 20th-century writers already grouped Brubaker with surnames that sounded thoroughly American, even though they were recognized as distinctly Pennsylvania German.
From the historical record
“19 Many of the above modified names have become so thoroughly familiar to American ears that no one would think at first sight of seeking a foreign origin for them. Such, among others, are Brubaker, Landis, Hartzell, Yerkes, Hershey, Hoover, Long. In recent years I have found in magazine fiction the names of…”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names