Harbaugh
A surname that likely comes from a German place-name or topographic name ending in -bach, “stream.”
The #6,873 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,074 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Harbaugh is best understood as an Americanized spelling of a German surname such as Herbach. The second element is German -bach, meaning “stream” or “brook,” while the first element is likely a personal name or older place-name element that has been shortened in the Anglicized form. In historical American surname writing, Harbaugh is specifically noted as corresponding to Herbach.
History
The name is found chiefly in the United States, where German surnames were often respelled to fit English spelling and pronunciation. The Har- spelling reflects that process, while the final -baugh often represents German -bach in Americanized form. Because the source evidence is brief, the exact original German form is not certain, but Herbach is the most likely match given the historical scholarship provided.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending -baugh in many Pennsylvania German surnames is often an English spelling of German -bach, “brook.”
From the historical record
“of new forms, as in Light (Licht), Albright (Albrecht), Ham- bright (Hainbrecht), Slaughter (Schlachter), and the numerous class of names in baugh (bach), as Harbaugh (Herbach), Bright enbaiigh (Breitenbach), Brumbaugh. Ch usually becomes k in the suffix maker ; probably this is largely due to transla tion. Of…”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names