Gerber
A German occupational surname meaning “tanner” or “leather worker.”
The #2,170 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,452 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gerber comes from Middle High German garwer / gerwer, meaning a person who prepares or tans leather. In modern terms, it is the surname form of “tanner” or “currier,” someone who works hides into leather. Related German forms include Weißgerber, literally “white tanner,” for a specialist in lighter leather finishing.
History
The name arose independently in German-speaking areas as a common occupational surname. It was later carried abroad by German emigration, including to North America, where it sometimes appears in altered spellings such as Garver or Carver in Pennsylvania German communities. The surname is still fairly common in German-speaking countries and among descendants of German immigrants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Historic sources sometimes gloss the name directly as “tanner,” showing how transparent the occupational meaning was to earlier scholars.
From the historical record
“Clerber ÜI. mbd. garwer, gerwer „der das Leder gar macht, zubereitet'^ FN. Gerber. Zss. Rothgerber, Weifsgerber (mhd. wizgerwer). Splütgerber^ in älterer F. Splütegarb, C^reat III. mhd. geriute „durch Reuten ur- bar gemachtes Stück Land.^^ Häufiger ON. FN. Vom Öreuth. Am GriUh. Oreuter.”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen