Surname Buttermilch - Meaning and Origin
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Buttermilch: What does the surname Buttermilch mean?
The last name Buttermilch is a German surname derived from two words: “butter” and “milch”. The literal translation of the name is “butter milk”. The name is likely a reference to a person or family who either lived near a source of butter milk, or worked as an agricultural provider of the dairy byproduct.
In Germany, the family producing butter milk was often a source of high-quality dairy and the practice of producing it was regulated according to local customs. This custom could go back for centuries and by the 18th century, the name Buttermilch was common in the south and southwest of Germany.
By the 19th and 20th centuries, the Buttermilch lineage had spread to other parts of Europe, as well as North America. To this day, the name remains popular in parts of Western Germany, including the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. The family’s American descendants still bear the last name Buttermilch and many of them live resettled in Pennsylvania and other areas of the northeast.
The last name Buttermilch is a reminder of a rich dairy tradition seen throughout the world. It has been part of the naming tradition of many German families for centuries, and it still is to this day.
Order DNA origin analysisButtermilch: Where does the name Buttermilch come from?
The last name Buttermilch is commonly found today throughout the United States and other countries. The origin of the name dates back to the pre-modern German form, Butter-Milck, which means "butter-milk." In the United States, the most concentrated population of people with this surname can be found in Pennsylvania, home to more than four hundred people with this name. Historically, the name Buttermilch was mainly used by German Jews, but its usage extended to members of other ethnicities. The name Buttermilch became more widespread as immigration of those with this surname occurred from Europe to America in the 1700s and 1800s.
Following the United States, the countries with the largest populations of Buttermilchs are Argentina, Brazil, Israel, England, and Spain. Though it is not particularly common in Australia, there are still some people there who use the last name.
Today, the name Buttermilch has taken on a number of, often humorous, derivatives in English, such as "Buttermilk" and "Butterscotch." While this is likely due in part to the name's sound, it is also an indication of how wide spread the last name Buttermilch has become.
Variations of the surname Buttermilch
Buttermilch is a German-origin surname derived from two words of Anglo Saxon, ‘butter’ and ‘milch’, meaning ‘dairy milk’. It is a relatively uncommon surname, though it’s thought to have first surfaced in the late 1500s. It is now found mainly in Germany, Austria, and countries of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Variants and spellings of the Buttermilch surname include Buttermilch, Butter Milch, Bittermilch, Bittermilch, Buttermilk, Bitter-milk, and Brottermilch. Most closely related to the original spelling are Butter Milch, a combination of the two words, and Buttermilk, the earthy, slightly sour-tasting drink made with soured milk or cream.
Surnames of related origin include Brotmeier (‘breadmaker’), Molke (‘whey’), and Milch (‘milk’). All of these have their eventual origin in the same two words, ‘butter’ and ‘milch’.
Other surnames of similar meaning include Kinne (‘cheese’), Gerstenmilch (‘barley milk’), Schoett berger (‘butterman’), Zei-gler (‘butterman’), and Kruger (‘buttermaker’).
Surnames of similar origin may also have emerged in other European countries, such as France or the Netherlands, though Anglicised versions of the original name may have been used. For example, the Dutch surname Botermans, meaning ‘butterman’, may have an equivalent root to the German-origin Buttermilch. Ultimately, all the variants and surnames of the same origin are Pale of Settlement Jews who worked as dairy farmers or artisanal butter-makers.
Famous people with the name Buttermilch
- Rosie Buttermilch: British Chef and Patissiere
- Laurin Buttermilch: American video game producer
- Macey Buttermilch: American actor
- Elijah Buttermilch: Canadian poet
- Bruno Buttermilch: German painter
- Cisco Buttermilch: American musician
- Chandler Buttermilch: Canadian stuntman
- Quinn Buttermilch: Italian real estate developer
- Jasmine Buttermilch: Australian children’s author
- Zoey Buttermilch: UK television and film actress