Bednar
A Central and Eastern European occupational surname meaning “cabinetmaker” or “cooper.”
The #7,968 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 74,379 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bednar is a surname from a Central European craft term meaning a maker of wooden vessels, tubs, barrels, or casks. In Slavic languages such as Czech and Slovak, the word is associated with the profession of a cooper or barrel-maker. Related forms also appear in neighboring languages and may reflect borrowing from German craft vocabulary in some areas.
History
The surname is especially found among Czech and Slovak families, but it also appears in Polish, Ukrainian, and other Central and Eastern European communities. As with many occupational surnames, it arose independently in more than one place where the craft term was in common use. In the United States, it is usually a heritage surname carried by immigrant families from those regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Barrel- and tub-making was such an important trade in preindustrial life that it generated a cluster of surnames across Europe, not just one.