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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Dutch and German : from Dutch or German bitter ‘harsh’, ‘bitter’, hence a nickname for a sour, embittered, or severe person.
  • German : from an agent derivative of Middle High German bitten ‘to bid’, hence a nickname or occupational name for a bidder, broker, the municipal alms collector, or a suitor. Compare Bitner.
  • Jewish (Ashkenazic) : occupational name from 2.

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