The origin may be topographical and derive from the ancient pre-7th-century word lehr akin to the English 'leah', and as such describing an enclosure suitable for agriculture or a water meadow, one which was flooded in winter but dried out for summer grazing.
The possible link from the Rhineland Lehrers to the Polish line relates to emigration from France and southern Germany.
According to a list in the Archives Nationales, there were 46,054 Jewish people in France who chose permanent names.
The majority were in the departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, and Moselle, areas that some Lehrer families lived in.
By the late 1700s and early 1800s, a significant number of Lehrers moved elsewhere around the world, specifically to the Americas.