Borst
An old nickname surname likely meaning “broad-chested” or “the chest,” later also linked to personal names in some traditions.
The #8,198 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,271 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In Dutch and Low German, borst means “breast” or “chest,” so the surname was probably first given as a nickname for someone with a notable chest, build, or bearing. Some older writers also connected Borst with a Germanic personal-name base, but the nickname explanation is the more straightforward and widely accepted one. In Dutch surname lists, it appears alongside other body-part nicknames such as Neus, Mond, and Buick.
History
The name is found in the Low Countries and nearby German-speaking areas, and it survives today chiefly as a Dutch and German surname. Older scholarship sometimes tried to derive it from an old personal name such as Burzo, but it is also treated as a descriptive byname in Dutch tradition. The surname is uncommon in the United States but well established in Europe.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century Dutch onomastic writers grouped Borst with a lively set of body-based surnames, treating it much like “De Neus” or “De Vuyst.”
From the historical record
“und tsch vergröbert. So finden sich z. B. Bersch, Bertsch, Dantsch, Gerseh, Oüntsch, Harsch, Hunsch für Berz, Danz, Gerz, Günz, Harz und Münz. — Borst, Horst und Norst gehören zu Burzo, Harzo und Norzo; Herbst vielleicht zu Herbert, wie Komposch, Eompast, Kompst zu Eundpert. Einzelweise findet sich auch s für z…”
— Die oberdeutschen Familiennamen