Bohn
A surname with German roots, often linked to the word for “bean” or to short forms built from old Germanic names.
The #3,822 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,299 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Bohn is found especially in German and also appears in English records through continental families. In German, it is commonly connected with the word for “bean” or with short forms of older Germanic personal names beginning with Bon-/Boh-. Some 19th-century writers also associated it with French and Norman place- or family-names, but those explanations are less secure and may reflect local or immigrant spellings rather than a single origin.
History
The name appears in historical surname lists from both Germany and England, and it was carried into Britain by some continental families. In English sources, it was sometimes grouped with spellings such as Bone, Boon, and Bohan, showing how fluid surname forms could be in earlier records. The modern surname is best treated as having more than one possible source, depending on the family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often treated Bohn, Boon, Bone, and Bohan as closely related forms, even when they may not all share the same origin.
From the historical record
“Bone. From Bohon ; loc. n., N01 mandy. Or Fr. Bouhon ; Dch Boon ; G. Bohn ; D., FI. Bon p.n. A Hugt. n., Lond. 1621 De Buun in Rot. Obi. et Fin. Bonehill. A loc. n., Staff. ; c! Bonhill, Dumbarton. Or N- F>\ Bonnel ; Dch. Bonel ; p.n. 1”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)