Frequency: (4401)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
English, German, Danish, and Swedish: topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from a Germanic word meaning ‘birch’ (Old English birce ‘birch’, Middle High German birche, Old Danish birk). In some cases, the German name may be derived from places named with this word, such as Birch in Aargau (see Birke). In Swedish, the name is in many instances ornamental.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
