Bachman
A surname that can mean either “man by the brook” or “Bach’s man/servant,” depending on which German root it came from.
The #2,763 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,646 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bachman is a German surname with more than one plausible source. It may come from Middle High German bach meaning “brook” or “stream,” making it a topographic name for someone who lived by water. It can also be read as a variant of a patronymic form built on Bach, in which case it meant “the man associated with Bach” or “son/servant of Bach,” though the exact sense is not always clear.
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and was carried to North America by German immigrants and their descendants. In English-language records it often appears beside related forms such as Bach, Bacher, and Bachmann. Because spellings were not fixed, Bachman and Bachmann have often been used interchangeably in older sources and records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older genealogical sources, Baughman was sometimes treated as an Anglicized spelling related to Bachman.
From the historical record
“Bachenstose, p. 309 Backer, p. 314 Bachman, p. 314 Bachli, p. 304 Baer, pp. 304, 317 Bauerle, p. 310 Baggenstose= Bachenstoss, Bair = Baer,”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names