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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) : from Middle High German bier ‘beer’, German Bier, Yiddish bir, a metonymic occupational name for a brewer of beer or a tavern owner, or in some cases perhaps a nickname for a beer drinker.
  • South German : from the short form of a personal name formed with Old High German bero ‘bear’.
  • Northern English and Scottish : variant of Byers.

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