Earhart
A German surname ultimately from a personal name meaning “honor-brave” or “noble-brave.”
The #8,490 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,533 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Earhart is a variant spelling of the German surname Ehrhard, itself from the old Germanic personal name Erhard/Ehrhard. That name is usually explained as combining elements meaning “honor” or “esteem” with “hardy, brave, strong,” so the original sense is roughly “honorable and brave.” The surname began as a patronymic, identifying someone as the descendant of a man with that given name.
History
The form Earhart reflects Anglicized spelling in North America, where German surnames were often reshaped to fit English spelling habits. It is especially familiar in the United States because of the aviator Amelia Earhart, which helped make the name widely recognizable beyond German-American communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The better-known spelling Earhart is a relatively recent Americanized form; the older German form Ehrhard is the one cited by historical surname dictionaries.
From the historical record
“Eaby = Ebi, Earhart = Ehrhard, Barley = Ehrle, Earp = Erb, Ebaugh = Ibach, Eberhart, p. 304 Eberli, p. 304”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names