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Bach Family History

Bach Surname Meaning

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream Middle High German bach ‘stream’. This surname is also found in some other European countries most notably in Denmark and France (Alsace and Lorraine) but also in e.g. the Netherlands, Czechia (see also 5 below), and Croatia.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from German Bach ‘stream, creek’. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream Middle English bach(e), bech(e) ‘stream’ (Old English bæce).

Welsh: nickname, a distinguishing epithet from Welsh bach ‘little, small’. Polish, Czech, and Slovak: from the personal name Bach, a pet form of Bartholomaeus (Polish Bartłomiej, Czech Bartoloměj, Slovak Bartolomej; see Bartholomew) or, in some cases, Baltazar or Sebastian.

Americanized form of Norwegian Bakk or Bakke. Germanized or Americanized form of Slovenian Bah.

Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 白 and 柏 possibly based on their Cantonese pronunciation; see Bai 1 and 9. Vietnamese (Bạch): from the Chinese surname 白; see Bai.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Bach family from?

You can see how Bach families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Bach family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Bach families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 49 Bach families living in Ontario. This was about 45% of all the recorded Bach's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Bach families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Bach surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Bach ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Student were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Bach. 89% of Bach men worked as a Farmer and 100% of Bach women worked as a Student.

View Census Data for Bach | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    89%
  • Farmers Son
    12%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Student
    100%

What Bach family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 60,000 census records available for the last name Bach. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Bach census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Bach

Passenger Lists

There are 19,000 immigration records available for the last name Bach. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Bach immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 31,000 military records available for the last name Bach. For the veterans among your Bach ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Bach military records

You've only scratched the surface of Bach family history

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What is the average Bach lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Bach life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 1992. The average life expectancy for Bach in 1940 was 38, and 77 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Bach

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Bach ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Bach family tree

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