Frequency: (134) (number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
South German: variant of Bel(t)zner, an occupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative of Middle High German bel(lī)z ‘fur’, ‘pelt’ (see Beltz).
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.