Bumgarner
An American surname usually reflecting a regional spelling of a German occupational name for a gardener or farmworker.
The #5,567 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,431 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bumgarner is generally treated as an Americanized spelling of a German surname built on the word for a gardener or orchard keeper, from Middle High German and later German forms related to "Gärtner". The ending -er marks a person associated with that work or place, so the name originally pointed to someone who gardened, cultivated land, or tended a particular kind of plot. In some cases the initial element may reflect dialect spelling or pronunciation rather than a separate meaningful root, which is why forms like Bumgarner and Baumgardner are often linked.
History
The name is most familiar in the United States, especially among families of German or Swiss-German descent whose surnames were reshaped in English-speaking records. Spellings varied widely as immigrants and clerks tried to render German sounds in English orthography, producing forms such as Baumgardner, Bumgardner, and Bumgarner. The surname is relatively uncommon but well established in American records from the 18th and 19th centuries onward.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bumgarner is one of several surnames in the Baumgarten/Baumgärtner family of German names, where English spelling often obscured the original meaning.