Find out how popular the last name Bahr is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bahr.

Bahr, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bahr surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bahr in America

Bahr is the 4589th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bahr surname appeared 7,731 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Bahr.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bahr to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bahr

The surname BAHR is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word 'baro', which meant 'free man' or 'yeoman'. The name first appeared in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia in southern Germany during the 12th century.

The earliest recorded instances of the name BAHR can be found in medieval German records and manuscripts, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, which dates back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Deutsches Städtebuch, a compilation of medieval town records from the 14th century.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname BAHR was Hans Bahr, a German merchant and alderman who lived in the city of Nuremberg during the late 15th century (c. 1450-1520). Another notable figure was Johann Bahr, a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Leipzig, who lived from 1592 to 1659.

In the 17th century, the name BAHR appeared in various place names, such as Bahrenhof and Bahrenfeld, which were villages or hamlets located in northern Germany. These place names were likely derived from the surname itself, indicating that families with the name BAHR had established settlements in those areas.

The surname BAHR has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history, including Hermann Bahr (1863-1934), an Austrian writer and literary critic known for his work on modernism and expressionism. Another prominent figure was Max Bahr (1909-1987), a German-American architect who designed several iconic buildings in Los Angeles, California.

Other individuals with the surname BAHR include Johann Christian Bahr (1801-1869), a German philologist and educator; Hermann Bahr (1930-1997), a German physicist and academic; and Egon Bahr (1922-2015), a German politician and diplomat who played a key role in the Ostpolitik of the 1970s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bahr

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bahr.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bahr was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bahr has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bahr was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bahr, please contact us.

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