Explore the Family Name Becher
The meaning of Becher
1. German: occupational name for a maker of wooden vessels, a shortened form of Becherer, the loss of the final syllable having occurred in the 15th century. 2. German: occupational name for someone who distilled or worked with pitch, for example in making vessels watertight, from an agent derivative of Middle High German bech, pech ‘pitch’. 3. Scandinavian: either of German origin (see 1 and 2 above) or a variant of Becker. 4. English: variant of Beecher, a topographic name for a ‘dweller by the beech tree’, itself a variant of Beech with the agent suffix -er. 5. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name from Yiddish bekher ‘cup’. Some characteristic forenames: German Ilse, Inge, Armin, Arno, Erwin, Heinz, Jutta, Otto.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Becher in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Becher saw a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Becher ranked as the 11,599th most popular surname in the United States. By 2010, it had slipped to 12,444th place, a drop of approximately 7.29%. However, the actual number of people with the Becher surname slightly increased over this time period, from 2,483 in 2000 to 2,496 in 2010. This represents a modest growth of 0.52%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,599 | #12,444 | -7.29% |
| Count | 2,483 | 2,496 | 0.52% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.92 | 0.85 | -7.61% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Becher
Turning to ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts within the Becher population between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Bechers identifying as White decreased marginally from 96.46% to 95.87%. Meanwhile, representations from other ethnic backgrounds saw more significant changes. For instance, those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander grew by 30.77%, albeit from a small base of 0.52%. Hispanic representation also increased by 44.68%, while the proportion of Bechers identifying as Black rose by 22.35%. Notably, the percentage of Bechers identifying as two or more races fell sharply, down 53.25% from 2000. The proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Native remained constant at zero.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.46% | 95.87% | -0.61% |
| Hispanic | 1.41% | 2.04% | 44.68% |
| Black | 0.85% | 1.04% | 22.35% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.52% | 0.68% | 30.77% |
| Two or More Races | 0.77% | 0.36% | -53.25% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |