Surname Berkholder - Meaning and Origin
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Berkholder: What does the surname Berkholder mean?
The last name Berkholder is an occupational name, meaning someone who worked as a guardian of birch trees. Many people in the middle ages relied heavily on birch trees for a variety of purposes, and a guardian was necessary to ensure the trees remained healthy and abundant.
Berkholder was a common job in areas where birch trees were plentiful. People with the Berkholder surname were typically charge of overseeing the forests or plantations with birch trees. They had the responsibility of monitoring the progress of the trees, and looking after their health and growth. They were also in charge of assessing the appropriate times to harvest the birch trees to make sure the forest remained sustainable.
The Berkholder surname is also a regional name, specifically from Germany. It is a variant of the Germanic name Bachholder, which is derived from the Germanic elements “bach” (stream) and “halt” (guardian or protector). The original spelling of the name may have been Bachholder, but over time it changed slightly to Berkholder.
Because of its root meaning, the surname Berkholder carries with it an important legacy of stewardship. Those with this name represent a tradition of care and respect for the natural world, which may have been largely forgotten today.
Order DNA origin analysisBerkholder: Where does the name Berkholder come from?
The last name Berkholder is most common in regions of Pennsylvania, with many descendants from Pennsylvania Dutch, Swiss German, and English settlers. The first recorded use as a surname was in 1563 in Pfaltz, Germany. The majority of the population with the name Berkholder in the US can be found in the states of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The highest density of the surname appears in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, thought to be the hub of the original Berkholder ancestors. It has been suggested that the family was originally located in the small Swiss village of Schreitenbach near Souchez in Switzerland, before the Protestant Reformation drove their family to Germany and eventually to the United States.
The last name Berkholder also appears in several other states, including California, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, suggesting recent migrations from Pennsylvania. In looking at records from 1850s, the majority of the Berkholder population was located in Lancaster and Schuylkill Counties, Pennsylvania.
For current records, the last name Berkholder appears 1,088 times in the 2020 US Census, with 74% of the people bearing the name living in Pennsylvania. 20% live in Ohio, and 5 % live in California. In Pennsylvania, the most populous county is Lancaster, with Chester and Berks counties close behind. In Ohio, the most populous county is Mahoning, with Ross County close behind.
Today, the Berkholder name is most commonly associated with Pennsylvania Dutch settlers and their descendents, who are believed to have brought the name to the United States almost four centuries ago.
Variations of the surname Berkholder
The Berkholder surname is an Americanized spelling of the German surname Bergthaler, which itself is a patronymic name derived from the personal name Berchtold, meaning "bright ruler." Common variants of the surname include the German Bergthaler, Bergthaller, Berthaler and Berthold, as well as the Dutch Bergthold.
In the United States, the Berkholder surname may have emerged in the mid 1700s when the first members of the Bergthaler family emigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany. Over time, the spelling of the surname may have evolved into Berkholder. Alternate spellings of the name present in the United States today include Barckholder, Barkholder, Berckholder, Berkholde, Berkhould and Burkhollder.
The German Bergthaler name has also spread to other countries such as the United Kingdom, where alternate surnames, including Barck, Bearkler, Barkle and Berckhouses, may be found in census records.
Variations of Berkholder may also be found in Dutch immigrant records, such as the Yount family name, which may have been derived from the surname Von Bergtholde, after the family moved to Holland sometime in the late 1700s.
In summary, the Berkholder surname is a variation of the original German surname Bergthaler, which may also be spelled in a variety of ways, including Bergthaller, Berthaler, Berthold, Barckholder, Barkholder, Berckholder, Berkholde, Berkhould, Burkhollder, Barck, Bearkler, Barkle, Berckhouses, and Von Bergtholde.
Famous people with the name Berkholder
- Minou Berkholder, a German jazz singer
- Pete Berkholder, a member of the American Electronic band Outputmessage
- Willard E. Berkholder, a professor at Loyola Marymount University
- Tree Berkholder, American politician of the Democratic Party, based in Georgia
- Kate Berkholder, a goldsmith and instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
- C. Jonas Berkholder, an American newspaper editor
- John P. Berkholder, professor of mathematics at the University of Michigan
- Frank Berkholder, Ford Motor Company engineer
- Jon Berkholder, a sound engineer and musician specializing in technology and acoustic research
- Jim Berkholder, a specialist in disaster medicine and epidemiology