Explore the Family Name Bither

The meaning of Bither

Altered form of Scottish Boyter. History: The Bithers trace their origin to Peter Bither, born c.1753, reportedly in Portsmouth, England, died 1827 in ME. He served in the American Revolutionary War. However, there is no record of the surname Bither in England. The original form of Peter Bither’s surname was reportedly Boyter, while family lore states that it originated from the nickname Peter the Biter: the fanciful story goes that the progenitor was taken from England as a small boy aboard a ship and was harassed by mean soldiers; he had no way to fight back except to bite them.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Bither in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Bither has seen a significant shift between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Bither was ranked 48,109 in terms of popularity, but this dropped to 61,745 by 2010, marking a 28.34% decrease. The count of individuals with this surname also decreased by 21.31% from 413 in 2000 to 325 in 2010. This change is also reflected in the proportion per 100k, which declined by 26.67% from 0.15 in 2000 to 0.11 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#48,109#61,745-28.34%
Count413325-21.31%
Proportion per 100k0.150.11-26.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bither

In terms of ethnic identity, there were no individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or Black with the surname Bither in 2000, but by 2010 both categories reported small percentages (1.54% Black and less than 1% for Asian/Pacific Islander). Those identifying as two or more races made up 1.54% of the Bither population in 2010, a category not present in the 2000 data. The percentage of individuals with the Bither surname who identify as White remained the majority, although it decreased slightly from 96.37% in 2000 to 93.54% in 2010. Data showed a slight increase in those identifying as Hispanic from 0 in 2000 to 1.85% in 2010. Those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native decreased from 2.42% in 2000 to none reported in 2010. This information is based on the Decennial U.S. Census data.

20002010Change
White96.37%93.54%-2.94%
Hispanic0%1.85%0%
Two or More Races0%1.54%0%
Black0%1.54%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native2.42%0%0%