Family name origins & meanings
- Dutch and German : from Dutch or German bitter ‘harsh’, ‘bitter’, hence a nickname for a sour, embittered, or severe person.
- German : from an agent derivative of Middle High German bitten ‘to bid’, hence a nickname or occupational name for a bidder, broker, the municipal alms collector, or a suitor. Compare Bitner.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic) : occupational name from 2.
