Bumgardner
A surname of German origin, usually a spelling variant of Baumgardner/ Baumgartner, meaning someone who lived or worked at an orchard or garden.
The #7,783 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,407 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bumgardner is an Americanized spelling of German Baumgartner, with the elements Baum meaning “tree” and Garten meaning “garden” or “orchard.” The name originally referred to someone associated with a garden, orchard, or a place of trees, and in surname use it often became an occupational or topographic label. The spelling with -gard- reflects the way German sounds were adapted in English and American records.
History
The surname appears in immigrant and U.S. records in several spellings, including Baumgardner, Bumgarner, and Bumgardner. German-speaking families in North America often saw the name simplified or respelled as it passed through English-language clerks and census takers. The form Bumgardner is now established in the United States, though it remains less common than the Baumgartner family of spellings.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name’s first element, Baum, literally means “tree,” so the surname has a very green, almost pastoral origin.
From the historical record
“Biittner, p. 311 Bumgardner = Baumgartuer, Burger, p. 311 Burkey = Burki,”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names