Family name origins & meanings
- Dutch and German : from Middle Dutch and Middle High German bicke ‘pickaxe’ or ‘chisel’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a stonemason or someone who made or worked with such tools.
- German : from a pet form of the personal name Burkhart.
- English : of uncertain origin, perhaps from the Old English personal name Bicca. Alternatively, Reaney suggests it may be from Middle English bike ‘nest of wild bees or wasps’ and hence a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper. Compare Bicker.
- Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) : German or English spelling of eastern Yiddish bik, Polish byk, or Russian byk, all meaning ‘ox’ or ‘bull’. This may be a translation of Shor.