Lahr
A surname that most likely began as a German place-name or nickname, later carried into English-speaking countries by immigration.
The #8,928 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,219 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lahr is best understood as a German surname tied to the place name Lahr in southwestern Germany. In surname use, it would originally have identified someone who came from that town or from a similarly named locality. In some cases, surnames of this form can also reflect local dialect words or shortened forms of older names, but the place-name explanation is the most straightforward.
History
The surname is found in German-speaking areas and later in countries shaped by German immigration, including the United States. Because it is relatively uncommon, many American bearers likely descend from one or a few immigrant lines rather than from a broad independent spread. Spellings may be stable, since the short form is easy to preserve across languages.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lahr is also the name of a real German city in Baden-Württemberg, which makes the surname easy to link with a geographic origin.