BUCHER
Bucher is a surname of German origin that entered the British Isles in the medieval period. The name is occupational in character, and it was originally employed to describe a person engaged in a particular trade or profession.
The earliest recorded German sense of the name derives from the Middle High German word buochære, meaning “scribe” or “book‑keeper.” In this sense the surname identified those who recorded accounts or bound books, roles that were highly valued in the administration and commercial life of the time.
In the French milieu the term bucher referred to a “butcher” or slaughterer, a crucial occupation in medieval England. Variants such as le Boucher, Bochier and Bouker appear in surviving records from the late 13th and early 14th centuries, for example Richard le Bucher in the 1240 Feet of Fines of Essex and Thomas le Bouker in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire. Over time the occupational nickname became hereditary, and in English contexts it is often seen as Butcher or Boucher.
In German usage the word bucher also means “butcher,” and it may be linked to a geographic origin in which a butcher’s shop or slaughterhouse was a local landmark. Place‑name evidence includes a municipality called Bucher in the district of Willisau in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland, illustrating how surnames could be derived from both occupation and locale.
During the period of German emigration to the United States, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, many bearers of the surname settled in Pennsylvania and other states with significant German communities. The same surname is also frequent in Switzerland, particularly within the Canton of Lucerne, and it remains well represented in Germany itself.
Variations of Bucher are numerous, reflecting linguistic adaptation and anglicisation. These include Buchner, Buecher, Boocher, Buchher, Buchrer and, in some cases, the English form Booker. Dutch and Swedish versions such as Boecker and Bokare also exist, showing the breadth of the name’s use across Germanic and Romance language areas.
Typical given names associated with the Bucher surname
Male
- Alan
- Alexander
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Ben
- Carsten
- James
- John
- Melville
- Michael
- Peter
- Robert
- Sean
- Thomas
- Tim
Female
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Julia
- Kathleen
- Kelly
- Marjory
- Mary
- Nathalie
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Boucher
- Buche
- Beucher
- Boacher
- Bocher
- Boecher
- Boetcher
- Boettcher
- Botcher
- Bouchar
- Bouchara
- Bouchere
- Bouchereau
- Boucherie
- Bouchers
- Bouchier
- Boutcher
- Boutchier
- Bowcher
- Bowchier
- Buchar
- Buchard
- Buchart
- Bucherer
- Buchert
- Buchler
- Buchner
- Buchter
- Buecher
- Buscher
- Butchar
- Butcher
- Butcherd
- Butchers
- Butchert
- Buttcher
- Basher
- Bashir
- Beecher
- Boshier
- Busey
- Busher
- Bushey
- Butchart
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Bucher in...
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Morse
-.....--.-.......-.
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There are approximately 142 people named Bucher in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around two in a million people in Britain are named Bucher.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Bucher
- Alf Bucher - Scottish rugby union player (1874 to 1939)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.