Family name origins & meanings
- German : from a Germanic personal name composed of Old High German ēra ‘honor’ (compare Ehrlich) + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’. The name was popularized by the cult of an 8th century bishop of Regensburg of this name; hence the present high frequency of the family name in Bavaria. The form Erhard has also been adopted by Ashkenazic Jews.