Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • German, Danish, and Swedish : from the Germanic personal name Ber(n)wald, composed of the elements ber(n) ‘bear’ + wald ‘ruler’ but altered by folk etymology as if from German Bär ‘bear’ + Wald ‘forest’.
  • German : in some cases, a habitational name from a place called Bärwalde or Beerwalde, of which there are several examples in eastern Germany.