Last name origin & meaning: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for a peasant or
nickname meaning ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’, from Middle High German
(ge)būr, Middle Low German būr, denoting an
occupant of a būr, a small dwelling or building. Compare Old
English būr, modern English bower. This word later
fell together with Middle High German būwære, an agent
noun from Old High German būan ‘to cultivate’, later also
(at first in Low German dialects) ‘to build’. The German surname thus
has two possible senses: ‘peasant’ and ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’. This name appears in the following lists:
Composers
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