1000 Most Common Last Names in Germany

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German smit, German Schmied ‘blacksmith’. The German surname is found in many other parts of Europe, from Slovenia to Sweden.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a tailor, literally ‘cutter’, from Middle High German snider, German Schneider, Yiddish shnayder. The same term was sometimes used to denote a woodcutter. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a fisherman, from Fisch + the agent suffix -er. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a weaver, Middle High German wëber, German Weber, an agent derivative of weben ‘to weave’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, being found for example as a Czech, Polish, Slovenian, and Hungarian name.

German and Dutch: from Middle High German meier, a status name for a steward, bailiff, or overseer, which later came to be used also to denote a tenant farmer, which is normally the sense in the many compound surnames formed with this term as a second element. Originally it denoted a village headman (ultimately from Latin maior ‘greater’, ‘superior’). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish personal name Meyer (from Hebrew Meir ‘enlightener’, a derivative of Hebrew or ‘light’). Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Meidhir, from meidhir ‘mirth’. Danish: variant spelling of Meier 3.

German (also Wägner) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a carter or cartwright, from an agent derivative of Middle High German wagen ‘cart’, ‘wagon’, German Wagen. The German surname is also well established in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, eastern Europe, and elsewhere as well as in German-speaking countries.

Dutch, German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a baker of bread, or brick and tiles, from backen ‘to bake’. English: occupational name for a maker or user of mattocks or pickaxes, from an agent derivative of Old English becca ‘mattock’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Schultz. In this spelling, it is also found as a surname in Slovenia and elsewhere.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for a steward on a farm or estate, from German hof(f) ‘manorfarm’, ‘courtyard’ + Mann ‘man’. Originally, this was a status name for a farmer who owned his own land as opposed to holding it by rent or feudal obligation, but the name soon came to denote the manager or steward of a manor farm, in which sense it is extremely frequent throughout central and eastern Europe; also among Jews, since many Jews held managerial positions on non-Jewish estates. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, not only in German-speaking lands.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German koch, German Koch ‘cook’ (cognate with Latin coquus). The name in this sense is widespread throughout eastern and central Europe, and is also well established in Denmark. Czech and Slovak: from a pet form of any of several medieval personal names beginning with Ko-, for example Kochan, Kocián, Kojata, and Kosmas. Polish: nickname from kochac ‘to love’ (see Kochan).

German: occupational name or status name for an arbiter or judge, Middle High German rihtære (from rihten ‘to make right’). The term was used in the Middle Ages mostly to denote a part-time legal official. Such communal conciliators held a position of considerable esteem in rural communities; in eastern Germany the term came to denote a village headman, which was often a hereditary office. It is in this region that the surname is most frequent. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a rabbinic judge, from modern German Richter ‘judge’ (see 1 above). See also Dayan.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for a peasant or nickname meaning ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’, from Middle High German (ge)bur, Middle Low German bur, denoting an occupant of a bur, a small dwelling or building. Compare Old English bur, modern English bower. This word later fell together with Middle High German buwære, an agent noun from Old High German buan ‘to cultivate’, later also (at first in Low German dialects) ‘to build’. The German surname thus has two possible senses: ‘peasant’ and ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’. The precise meaning of the Jewish surname, which is of later formation, is unclear. This surname is also found elsewhere in central and eastern Europe, for example in Slovenia, where it may also be a translation of Kmet.

German, Dutch (also de Klein(e)) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German, Dutch, German klein ‘small’, or Yiddish kleyn. This was a nickname for a person of small stature, but is also often found as a distinguishing name for a junior male, usually a son, in names such as Kleinhans and Kleinpeter. This name is common and widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

English, Danish, and German: from a short form of the various Germanic compound names with a first element wolf ‘wolf’, or a byname or nickname with this meaning. The wolf was native throughout the forests of Europe, including Britain, until comparatively recently. In ancient and medieval times it played an important role in Germanic mythology, being regarded as one of the sacred beasts of Woden. This name is widespread throughout northern, central, and eastern Europe, as well as in Britain and German-speaking countries. German: habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a wolf, Middle High German wolf. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Volf meaning ‘wolf’, which is associated with the Hebrew personal name Binyamin (see Benjamin). This association stems from Jacob’s dying words ‘Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil’ (Genesis 49:27). Irish: variant spelling of Woulfe.

German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a newcomer to a place, from Middle High German niuwe, German neu ‘new’ + Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Schwartz.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German braun ‘brown’ (Middle High German brun), referring to the color of the hair, complexion, or clothing, or from the personal name Bruno, which was borne by the Dukes of Saxony, among others, from the 10th century or before. It was also the name of several medieval German and Italian saints, including St. Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian order (1030–1101), who was born in Cologne.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a carpenter, Middle High German zimbermann (a compound of zimber, zim(m)er ‘timber’, ‘wood’ + mann ‘man’), German Zimmermann.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Hoffmann. The surname in this spelling is also found in Denmark.

German and Scandinavian: variant of Lang. French (L’Ange): nickname from ange ‘angel’, with the definite article l’.

North German and Danish: variant of Hart 1. German: from a Germanic compound personal name composed of the elements hard ‘hard’, ‘strong’ + man ‘man’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): see Hartman.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kraus. German: from Middle High German kruse ‘pitcher’, ‘jug’; a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of jugs or a nickname for a heavy drinker.

German: status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, Middle High German leheman, lenman (from lehen ‘to hold land as a feudal tenant’ + man ‘man’). The tenant held land on loan for the duration of his life in return for rent or service, but was not free to transfer or divide it. Jewish (western Ashkenazic): from an identical Jewish personal name of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Leo 3.

German (Rhineland): variant or patronymic form of Schmidt.

German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak (Majer), and Polish: status name for a tenant farmer, steward, overseer, or village headman, a variant spelling of German Meyer 1. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of the personal name Meyer (see Meyer 2). Danish: occupational name from meiere ‘reaper’, ‘harvester’.

South German: variant spelling of Schmidt.

German: from a personal name composed of the Germanic elements war(in) ‘guard’ + heri, hari ‘army’. Compare Warner.

South German: variant of Schmidt.

German: variant of Schultz 1.

German and Dutch: variant spelling of Mayer 2. This surname is also established in Italy. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Meyer 2.

German: variant spelling of Hermann.

English: status name for a mayor, Middle English, Old French mair(e) (from Latin maior ‘greater’, ‘superior’; compare Mayor). In France the title denoted various minor local officials, and the same is true of Scotland (see Mair 1). In England, however, the term was normally restricted to the chief officer of a borough, and the surname may have been given not only to a citizen of some standing who had held this office, but also as a nickname to a pompous or officious person. German and Dutch: variant of Meyer 1. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Meyer 2.

German, Swedish, and English: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wald ‘rule’ + heri, hari ‘army’. The personal name was introduced into England from France by the Normans in the form Walt(i)er, Waut(i)er.

German (also Hüber, Hueber): status name based on Middle High German huobe, a measure of land, varying in size at different periods and in different places, but always of considerable extent, appreciably larger than the holding of the average peasant. The surname usually denotes a holder or owner of this amount of land, who would have been a prosperous small farmer and probably one of the leading men of his village. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, not only in German-speaking lands. Slovenian (eastern Slovenia): status name of Franconian origin (see 1) for a peasant who had his own landed property, dialectally called huba. Dutch: variant of Hubert. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a southern Yiddish pronunciation of Yiddish hober ‘oats’ (see Haber).

German: from Middle High German keiser ‘emperor’, from the Latin imperial title Caesar. This was the title borne by Holy Roman Emperors from Otto I (962) to Francis II (who relinquished the title in 1806). Later, it was borne by the monarch of Bismarck’s united Germany (1871–1918). It is very common as a German surname, originating partly as an occupational name for a servant in the Emperor’s household, partly as a nickname for someone who behaved in an imperious manner, and partly from a house sign. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Kaiser ‘emperor’, adopted (like Graf, Herzog, etc.) because of its aristocratic connotations. Muslim: from Arabic qay?sar ‘emperor’, which, like 1, is of Latin origin, from the imperial title in the Roman Empire.

English, Scottish, Dutch, and North German: patronymic from the personal name Peter. Irish: Anglicized form (translation) of Gaelic Mac Pheadair ‘son of Peter’. Americanized form of cognate surnames in other languages, for example Dutch and North German Pieters.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German vuhs, German Fuchs ‘fox’, nickname for a sly or cunning person, or for someone with red hair. This name is widespread throughout central Europe. As a Jewish name, it is mainly an ornamental name.

Scottish, English, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a tall person, from Older Scots, Middle English, Middle Dutch, Middle German, and Danish lang ‘long’, Swedish lång. Hungarian: from láng ‘flame’, hence probably a nickname for a passionate person, or a man with a fighting spirit. Alternatively it may be an indirect occupational name for a smith or someone who worked with fire. Chinese : from the name of a place called Lang City in the state of Lu, founded during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 bc) by a grandson of the ruler. His descendants lived there and adopted Lang as their surname. Vietnamese (Lãng): unexplained.

Eastern German: variant of Schultz 1.

German: distinguishing epithet, from Middle High German junc ‘young’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German jung ‘young’, given to or assumed by people who were young at the time when surname became obligatory. Chinese , , : variant of Rong. Chinese , , : variant of Zhong. Korean: variant of Chong.

German: from Middle High German hane ‘rooster’, hence a nickname for a conceited or sexually active man. In some instances it may have been a habitational name from a house bearing the sign of a rooster. German: patronymic from a reduced form of the personal name Johannes (see John). This surname is also found in Denmark and Sweden. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Hahn ‘rooster’, one of the many Ashkenazic surnames based on vocabulary words denoting birds or animals.

German: from Middle High German kellaere ‘cellarman’, ‘cellar master’ (Latin cellarius, denoting the keeper of the cella ‘store chamber’, ‘pantry’). Hence an occupational name for the overseer of the stores, accounts, or household in general in, for example, a monastery or castle. Kellers were important as trusted stewards in a great household, and in some cases were promoted to ministerial rank. The surname is widespread throughout central Europe. English: either an occupational name for a maker of caps or cauls, from Middle English kellere, or an occupational name for an executioner, from Old English cwellere. Irish: reduced form of Kelleher. Scottish: variant of Keillor.

German, Dutch, Swedish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in the mountains or hills (see Berg). As a Jewish name it is mainly ornamental. It is found as a surname throughout central and eastern Europe, either as a surname of German origin or as a German translation of a topographic name with similar meaning, for example Slovenian Gricar, Hribar, Gorjan or Gorjanc. Norwegian: habitational name from any of various farms so named with the plural of Berg ‘mountain’. French: occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French bergier (Late Latin berbicarius, from berbex ‘ram’).

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a happy person or someone who liked to sing, or a metonymic occupational name for a bird catcher, from Middle High German, Middle Low German vogel ‘bird’. This name is found throughout central Europe, not only in German-speaking lands. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Foygl, cognate with 1 above.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a shoemaker or cobbler, from Middle High German schuoch ‘shoe’ + würhte ‘maker’. The sound b was often substituted for v in eastern dialects of German.

German: from a personal name composed of the Germanic elements frid, fred ‘peace’ + ric ‘power’. The name was borne by a canonized 9th-century bishop of Utrecht, and was a hereditary name among the Hohenstaufen ruling family; hence its popularity in central Europe.

German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Slovenian, Czech, Hungarian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): ethnic or regional name for someone from Franconia (German Franken), a region of southwestern Germany so called from its early settlement by the Franks, a Germanic people who inhabited the lands around the river Rhine in Roman times. In the 6th–9th centuries, under leaders such as Clovis I (c. 466–511) and Charlemagne (742–814), the Franks established a substantial empire in western Europe, from which the country of France takes its name. The term Frank in eastern Mediterranean countries was used, in various vernacular forms, to denote the Crusaders and their descendants, and the American surname may also be an Americanized form of such a form. English, Dutch, German, etc.: from the personal name Frank, in origin an ethnic name for a Frank. This also came be used as an adjective meaning ‘free’, ‘open-hearted’, ‘generous’, deriving from the fact that in Frankish Gaul only people of Frankish race enjoyed the status of fully free men. It was also used as a Jewish personal name.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a person with red hair, from Middle High German rot, German rot ‘red’. As a Jewish surname it is also at least partly ornamental: its frequency as a Jewish surname is disproportionate to the number of Jews who, one may reasonably assume, were red-headed during the period of surname adoption. German and English: topographic name for someone who lived on land that had been cleared, Old High German rod, Old English rod, roð. German: from a short form of any of the various Germanic personal names with the first element hrod ‘renown’. Compare Rode 1, Ross 3.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or occupational name for someone who kept a corner shop or farmed a corner of land, from an agent derivative of Winkel 1. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, being found for example as a Czech, Polish, Slovenian, and Hungarian name.

English: topographic name for someone who lived beside a stream, from northern Middle English bekke ‘stream’ (Old Norse bekkr). English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in northern France, for example Bec Hellouin in Eure, named with Old Norman French bec ‘stream’, from the same Old Norse root as in 1. English: probably a nickname for someone with a prominent nose, from Middle English beke ‘beak (of a bird)’ (Old French bec). English: metonymic occupational name for a maker, seller, or user of mattocks or pickaxes, from Old English becca. In some cases the name may represent a survival of an Old English byname derived from this word. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a baker, a cognate of Baker, from (older) South German beck, West Yiddish bek. Some Jewish bearers of the name claim that it is an acronym of Hebrew ben-kedoshim ‘son of martyrs’, i.e. a name taken by one whose parents had been martyred for being Jews. North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Low German Beke ‘stream’. Compare the High German form Bach 1. Scandinavian: habitational name for someone from a farmstead named Bekk, Bæk, or Bäck, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a stream.

German, Dutch, Spanish (northern Spain), Jewish: from a vernacular form (German Laurenz, Dutch Laurens, Catalan Lorenç) of the Latin personal name Laurentius (see Lawrence). As a Jewish surname, it is probably an Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Ashkenazic names.

German, Dutch, Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for a peasant or a nickname meaning ‘neighbor’, ‘fellow citizen’ (see Bauer).

German, Dutch, and Czech: variant of Frank 3.

German: from the personal name, composed of Germanic adal ‘noble’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. Compare Albert. This surname is also found in Slovenia, also in the Slovenized form Albreht.

German and Dutch: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hlod ‘fame’ + wig ‘war’. This was the name of the founder of the Frankish dynasty, recorded in Latin chronicles as Chlodovechus (see Louis), and Ludovicus, which became German Ludwig. This became a hereditary name in the Wittelsbach family, the royal family of Bavaria.

English, German, Danish, and Swedish: nickname or byname for someone of a frosty or gloomy temperament, from Middle English, Middle High German, Danish, Swedish winter (Old English winter, Old High German wintar, Old Norse vetr). The Swedish name can be ornamental. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Winter ‘winter’, either an ornamental name or one of the group of names denoting the seasons, which were distributed at random by government officials. Compare Summer, Fruhling, and Herbst. Irish: Anglicized form ( part translation) of Gaelic Mac Giolla-Gheimhridh ‘son of the lad of winter’, from geimhreadh ‘winter’. This name is also Anglicized McAlivery. Mistranslation of French Livernois, which is in fact a habitational name, but mistakenly construed as l’hiver ‘winter’.

English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish (Simón), Czech and Slovak (Šimon), Slovenian, Hungarian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name, Hebrew Shim‘on, which is probably derived from the verb sham‘a ‘to hearken’. In the Vulgate and in many vernacular versions of the Old Testament, this is usually rendered Simeon. In the Greek New Testament, however, the name occurs as Simon, as a result of assimilation to the pre-existing Greek byname Simon (from simos ‘snub-nosed’). Both Simon and Simeon were in use as personal names in western Europe from the Middle Ages onward. In Christendom the former was always more popular, at least in part because of its associations with the apostle Simon Peter, the brother of Andrew. In Britain there was also confusion from an early date with Anglo-Scandinavian forms of Sigmund (see Siegmund), a name whose popularity was reinforced at the Conquest by the Norman form Simund.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, Middle High German schuochsutære (a compound of schuoch ‘shoe’ + sutære ‘one who sews’), German Schuster, Yiddish shuster.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a shoemaker, from Middle High German schuoch ‘shoe’, German Schuh + an agent derivative of machen ‘to make’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with curly hair, from Middle High German krus ‘curly’, ‘crinkly’, German kraus.

German: occupational name for a bailiff, farm manager, or other person with supervisory authority, Middle High German voget, Late Latin vocatus, from Latin advocatus, past participle of advocare ‘to call upon (to help)’. The term originally denoted someone who appeared before a court on behalf of some party not permitted to make direct representations, often an ecclesiastical body which was not supposed to have any dealings with temporal authorities.

English, Scottish, Irish, French, Dutch, German, Czech, Slovak, Spanish (Martín), Italian (Venice), etc.: from a personal name (Latin Martinus, a derivative of Mars, genitive Martis, the Roman god of fertility and war, whose name may derive ultimately from a root mar ‘gleam’). This was borne by a famous 4th-century saint, Martin of Tours, and consequently became extremely popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. As a North American surname, this form has absorbed many cognates from other European forms. English: habitational name from any of several places so called, principally in Hampshire, Lincolnshire, and Worcestershire, named in Old English as ‘settlement by a lake’ (from mere or mær ‘pool’, ‘lake’ + tun ‘settlement’) or as ‘settlement by a boundary’ (from (ge)mære ‘boundary’ + tun ‘settlement’). The place name has been charged from Marton under the influence of the personal name Martin.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Stein ‘rock’, Middle High German stein, hence a topographic name either for someone who lived on stony ground or for someone who lived by a notable outcrop of rock or by a stone boundary marker or monument. It could also be a metonymic occupational name for a mason or stonecutter, or, among Jews, an ornamental name. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe. Dutch: from a reduced form of the personal name Augustijn (see Austin). Norwegian: habitational name from any of ten or more farmsteads, notably in southeastern Norway, so named from Old Norse steinn ‘stone’. Scottish: from a reduced form of the personal name Steven (see Steen, Steven). Northern English and Scottish: from the Old Norse personal name Steinn meaning ‘stone’. Southern English: habitational name from a place named with Old English st?ne ‘stony place’, for example Stein in Sussex or Steane in Northamptonshire.

English and Irish: variant of Summer. German and Danish: from Middle German sumer, Danish, Norwegian sommer ‘summer’, a nickname for someone of a warm disposition, or for someone associated with the season in some other way or from living in a sunny place, in some instances a metonymic occupational name for a basketweaver or a drummer, from Middle High German sum(b)er, sum(m)er ‘basket’, ‘basketry’, ‘drum’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Sommer ‘summer’. Like the other seasonal names, this was also one of the group of names that were bestowed on Jews more or less at random by government officials in 18th- and 19th-century central Europe.

This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Brand': said to be still in use in Iceland as a fontal name. In England it had gone out of use before the 13th century began.William Brand, or Brant, Lincolnshire, 1273.

German, Dutch, Hungarian (Ottó), Danish, and Swedish: from the personal name Otto (see Ott).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from personal name Heinrich, composed of the Germanic elements haim, heim ‘home’ + ric ‘power’. In the Middle Ages this was the most popular of personal names in Germany. See also Henry.

North German and Dutch: status name from Middle Low German schulthete, Middle Dutch schulte ‘village headman’. Compare Schultz, Schultheis.

German: status name from Middle High German grave, grabe, which was used as a title denoting various more or less aristocratic dignitaries and officials. In later times it became established as a title of nobility equivalent to the Romance count. The vocabulary word also denoted a variety of different minor local functionaries in different parts of Germany. In the Grand Duchy of Hesse, for example, it was used for the holder of the comparatively humble office of village headman. Compare Mayer, Schultz, and Vogt. The surname could have originated from any of these senses or be an occupational name for a servant or retainer of a count, or a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces. Variant spelling of Dutch Graef. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name selected, like Herzog and other words denoting titles, because of their aristocratic connotations.

Dutch, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle Dutch, Middle High German hase, German Hase ‘hare’, hence a nickname for a swift runner or a timorous or confused person, but in some cases perhaps a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a hare. As a Jewish name it can also be an ornamental name or one of names selected at random from vocabulary words by government officials when surnames became compulsory.

South German: from the medieval name Sidel, a pet form of Sifrit (see Siegfried). Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname or ornamental name from German Seidel ‘beer mug’, ‘pint’.

German: occupational name for a clerk, from an agent derivative of Middle High German schriben ‘to write’ (via Old High German from Latin scribere). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Schreiber, Yiddish shrayber ‘writer’, adopted as a translation of Hebrew Soffer ‘scribe’.

German: from the Germanic personal name Tederich (Theudoricus), composed of the elements theud ‘people’, ‘race’ + ric ‘power(ful)’, ‘rich’. This surname is common throughout central and eastern Europe, particularly in the western Slavic countries. The forename occurs in a wide variety of local forms, especially in northern Germany. It is cognate with Dutch Diederik (see Dederick).

German and Dutch: from a short form of various Germanic personal names (see, for example, Engelbert and Engelhard). A number of different elements have fallen together in Engel-, mainly Ingal, extended form of Ing, the name of a Germanic god or folk hero, and Angel ‘Angle’. The Angles were a Germanic tribe living on the Jutland peninsula; in the 5th–6th centuries they invaded eastern and northern Britain and gave their name to England (Old English Englaland ‘land of the Angles’). German and Dutch: in some cases a habitational name for someone living at a house bearing the sign of an angel, Middle High German engel. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Engel ‘angel’ (see 2).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a tiler, from an agent derivative of Middle High German ziegel ‘roof tile’ (Old High German ziagal, from Latin tegula), German Ziegel. In the Middle Ages the term came to denote bricks as well as tiles, and so in some cases the term may have denoted a brickmaker or bricklayer rather than a tiler.

English, Scottish, German, and Dutch: from Middle English, Middle High German, Middle Dutch horn ‘horn’, applied in a variety of senses: as a metonymic occupational name for someone who made small articles, such as combs, spoons, and window lights, out of horn; as a metonymic occupational name for someone who played a musical instrument made from the horn of an animal; as a topographic name for someone who lived by a horn-shaped spur of a hill or tongue of land in a bend of a river, or a habitational name from any of the places named with this element (for example, in England, Horne in Surrey on a spur of a hill and Horn in Rutland in a bend of a river); as a nickname, perhaps referring to some feature of a person’s physical appearance, or denoting a cuckolded husband. Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads so named, from Old Norse horn ‘horn’, ‘spur of land’. Swedish: ornamental or topographic name from horn ‘horn’, ‘spur of land’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): presumably from German Horn ‘horn’, adopted as a surname for reasons that are not clear. It may be purely ornamental, or it may refer to the ram’s horn (Hebrew shofar) blown in the Synagogue during various ceremonies.

German (also found in Sweden): variant of Berg, reinforced by the addition of the suffix -man(n) ‘man’, a topographic name in most cases, but in some an occupational name for a miner.

topographic name from Middle Low German pol ‘(muddy) pool’ (Low German Pohl). (Pöhl): habitational name for someone from the island of Poel, near Wismar. Variant of Paul. Eastern German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): ethnic name for a Polish speaker or someone with some other connection with Poland, from German Pole, Dutch Pool ‘Pole’.

German: from the personal name Kuno, a short form of Kunrat (see Konrad). The German word kühn, meaning ‘bold’, may have influenced the popularity of this short form, but is not necessarily the immediate source of it. German: variant spelling of Kühn(e) (see Kuehn). Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German kühn ‘bold’, but in some cases an altered spelling of Cohn or Kohn (see Cohen).

Danish, Norwegian, North German, and Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Jan, a vernacular form of Johannes (see John).

German and Danish: variant of Vogt.

German, Dutch, Scandinavian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Bayer.

German (also Büsch): topographic name for someone who lived by a thicket or wood, from Middle High German busch ‘bush’, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.

English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, and South Indian: from the medieval personal name, of Biblical origin, from Aramaic t’om’a, a byname meaning ‘twin’. It was borne by one of the disciples of Christ, best known for his scepticism about Christ’s resurrection (John 20:24–29). The th- spelling is organic, the initial letter of the name in the Greek New Testament being a theta. The English pronunciation as t rather than th- is the result of French influence from an early date. In Britain the surname is widely distributed throughout the country, but especially common in Wales and Cornwall. The Ukrainian form is Choma. It is found as a personal name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. is used as a family name among families from southern India.

Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, and North German: patronymic from the personal name Hans.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of numerous places called Lindenau, Linde, Linden, or Linda. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Linde ‘lime tree’ + the agent suffix -ner.

English and German: from a very widely used personal name of Germanic origin, composed of the elements arn ‘eagle’ + wald ‘rule’. In addition, it has probably absorbed various European cognates and their derivatives (for the forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988). English: habitational name from either of the two places called Arnold (see Arnall). Jewish (Ashkenazic): adoption of the German personal name, at least in part on account of its resemblance to the Jewish name Aaron.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for an embittered or cantankerous person, from Middle High German sur, German sauer ‘sour’.

German (also Krämer), Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a shopkeeper, peddler, or hawker, from an agent derivative of Middle High German, Middle Low German kram ‘trading post’, ‘tent’, ‘booth’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Wolf.

German: from a local variant of the personal name Siegfried.

German and Dutch: from the personal name Ernst, which is most probably a byname from Middle High German and Middle Dutch ern(e)st ‘combat’, ‘serious business’. However, see Ernest. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname or ornamental from German ernst ‘earnest’, ‘serious’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from an agent derivative of Middle High German pfif(e), German Pfeife ‘whistle’, ‘pipe’, hence an occupational name for a pipe player.

German: from the personal name Wenzel, a pet form (with the German diminutive suffix -el) of the Middle High German personal name Wenze, a borrowing from Slavic representing a short form of the Old Czech personal name Veceslav (see Vacek; the borrowing took place before Czech lost its nasal vowels).

German: from the personal name Franz, a vernacular form of Latin Franciscus (see Francis).

German, Dutch, Scandinavian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German, Middle Dutch nagel, German Nagel ‘nail’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of nails. Compare English Nail.

Irish: reduced form of McCarron. German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German kerne ‘kernel’, ‘seed’, ‘pip’; Middle Dutch kern(e), keerne; German Kern or Yiddish kern ‘grain’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a farmer, or a nickname for a small person. As a Jewish surname, it is mainly ornamental. English: probably a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of hand mills, from Old English cweorn ‘hand mill’, or a habitational name for someone from Kern in the Isle of Wight, named from this word.

nickname for a bearded man, from Middle High German bart ‘beard’. See also Beard 1. variant of Bart 2. habitational name from a place so named in Pomerania.

English, Scottish, German, Dutch, etc.: from the personal name Peter (Greek Petros, from petra ‘rock’, ‘stone’). The name was popular throughout Christian Europe in the Middle Ages, having been bestowed by Christ as a byname on the apostle Simon bar Jonah, the brother of Andrew. The name was chosen by Christ for its symbolic significance (John 1:42, Matt. 16:18); St. Peter is regarded as the founding head of the Christian Church in view of Christ’s saying, ‘Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church’. In Christian Germany in the early Middle Ages this was the most frequent personal name of non-Germanic origin until the 14th century. This surname has also absorbed many cognates in other languages, for example Czech Petr, Hungarian Péter. It has also been adopted as a surname by Ashkenazic Jews.

English, French, German, and Dutch: from the personal name Paul (Latin Paulus ‘small’), which has always been popular in Christendom. It was the name adopted by the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus after his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus in about ad 34. He was a most energetic missionary to the Gentiles in the Roman Empire, and played a very significant role in establishing Christianity as a major world religion. The name was borne also by numerous other early saints. The American surname has absorbed cognates from other European languages, for example Greek Pavlis and its many derivatives. It is also occasionally borne by Jews; the reasons for this are not clear. Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Phóil ‘son of Paul’. Compare McFall. Catalan (Paül): habitational name from any of several places named Paül. Spanish: topographic name from paúl ‘marsh’, ‘lagoon’. Spanish: Castilianized form of Basque Padul, a habitational name from a town of this name in Araba province.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements heri, hari ‘army’ + man ‘man’. The surname is also borne by Ashkenazic Jews, probably as an adoption of the German surname.

German and Danish: nickname for someone with curly hair, a Low German variant of Kraus. German: from Middle High German kruse ‘pitcher’, ‘ceramic drinking vessel’; a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of jugs or a nickname for a heavy drinker.

pet form of the personal name Riede. variant of the topographic name Ried ‘mossy area’. pet form of a Germanic personal name formed with Middle Low German riden, Middle High German ritan ‘to ride’. Compare Reidel 3.

English and German: from a Middle English personal name, Ode, in which personal names of several different origins have coalesced: principally Old English Od(d)a, Old Norse Od(d)a and Continental Germanic Odo, Otto. The first two are short forms of names with the first element Old English ord, Old Norse odd ‘point of a weapon’. The Continental Germanic names are from a short form of compound names with the first element od- ‘possessions’, ‘riches’. The situation is further confused by the fact that all of these names were Latinized as Odo. Odo was the name of the half-brother of the Conqueror, archbishop of Bayeux, who accompanied the Norman expedition to England and was rewarded with 439 confiscated manors. The German name Odo or Otto was a hereditary name in the Saxon ruling house, as well as being borne by Otto von Wittelsbach, who founded the Bavarian ruling dynasty in the 11th century, and the 12th-century Otto of Bamberg, apostle of Pomerania.

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Haas.

Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, and North German: patronymic from Peter.

German, Dutch, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a tall man, from an inflected form of Lang. According to Gottschald, in the Franconian dialect of German this was also a term for an unskilled laborer (more fully, Handlanger).

German: from a personal name, in which two originally distinct names have fallen together: a pet form of the personal name Lorenz, and the Germanic personal name Lanzo, which was originally a short form of any of several compound names with land ‘land’ as the first element, e.g. Lambrecht (see Lambert). German: nickname from Middle High German lenz e ‘spring’ from lang ‘long’, since in this season the days grow longer. The name may also have been bestowed on someone who was born in the spring or who owed rent or service at that time of year, or it may have denoted someone who was of a sunny and spring-like disposition. German: habitational name from any of several places named Lenz. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Lenz ‘spring’ (see 2), one of the class of ornamental names adopted from words denoting the seasons. Compare Summer, Winter, Herbst, Fruhling.

nickname for a dour and forbidding individual, from Old High German grim ‘stern’, ‘severe’. from a Germanic personal name from grima ‘mask’, ‘helmet’.

North German and Dutch: variant of Hopp. South German: nickname from dialect hoppen ‘to hop’ (a variant of standard German hüpfen). This name is widespread throughout central Europe. Danish: from North German Hopp (see Hopf), or the Danish byname Hoppe ‘horse’, ‘mare’. English: metonymic form of Hopper 1.

German: nickname for a man with some fancied resemblance to a he-goat, Middle High German boc, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a goat. Altered spelling of German Böck (see Boeck) or Bach. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Bock ‘he-goat’. English: variant of Buck.

German, Danish, and Swedish: from a personal name of Germanic origin, composed of the elements arn ‘eagle’ + wald ‘rule’. Compare English Arnold.

German and Dutch: from a reduced form of the personal name Johann(es) (see John). Eastern German: from the Czech personal name Jan, also a form of John.

German: from the Germanic personal name Willahalm, composed of the elements wil ‘will’, ‘desire’ + helm ‘helmet’, ‘protection’.

North German: topographic name for someone who lived in a fen, Middle Low German mor. German and Dutch: nickname for a man of swarthy complexion, from Middle High German mor, Middle Dutch mo(e)r ‘Moor’. German: from a short form of an old personal name, Morhart (see Morath).

German: from Middle High German rit(t)er ‘knight’, ‘mounted warrior’, Middle Low German ridder, applied as a status name, occupational name, or nickname. Compare Knight.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a shoemaker, from Middle High German schuoch ‘shoe’ + man ‘man’, German Schuh + Mann.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a professional fiddle player, or a nickname for a skilled amateur, from Middle High German videlære, German Fiedler (Yiddish fidler). The instrument (Old High German fidula) is named from Late Latin vitula.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a merchant or wholesaler (see Kaufer). Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Kaufman.

German (also Kräft), Danish, Swedish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a strong man, from Old High German kraft, German Kraft ‘strength’, ‘power’. The Swedish name probably originated as a soldier’s name. In part the German and Danish names possibly also derive from a late survival of the same word used as a byname, Old High German Chraft(o), Old Norse Kraptr.

German or Dutch: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill or mountain, from Middle High German berc. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe. Scandinavian: habitational name for someone who lived at a farmstead named with Old Norse bjarg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’. In Sweden this is commonly found as an element of ornamental names. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’, or a short form of any of the many ornamental surnames containing this word as the final element, for example Schönberg (see Schoenberg) and Goldberg.

North German and Dutch: reduced form of the personal name Thietilo, an early medieval pet form of Dietrich (German), Diederik (Dutch), or from some other compound name with the same first element. Eastern German: from a short form of Sorbian Bartyl, from the personal name Bartholomäus (see Bartholomew).

English and Scottish: occupational name for a miller. The standard modern vocabulary word represents the northern Middle English term, an agent derivative of mille ‘mill’, reinforced by Old Norse mylnari (see Milner). In southern, western, and central England Millward (literally, ‘mill keeper’) was the usual term. The American surname has absorbed many cognate surnames from other European languages, for example French Meunier, Dumoulin, Demoulins, and Moulin; German Mueller; Dutch Molenaar; Italian Molinaro; Spanish Molinero; Hungarian Molnár; Slavic Mlinar, etc. Southwestern and Swiss German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Müller (see Mueller).

French, German, and Dutch: from the personal name Michel (see Michael). Basque: variant from the personal name Mitxel, equivalent of Michael. Polish: from a variant of the personal name Michal (see Michael). Greek: shortened form of any of various patronymic derivatives of Michael, for example Michelakis, Michelakakis, or Michelakos.

Dutch, German, Czech, and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Marks 3.

German and Dutch (also found in Sweden and Denmark): variant of Walter.

German: from a short form or pet form of Ludwig. South German (Lütz): from a short form of a name Luizo, Liuzo, derived from a Germanic name formed with liut- ‘people’ as the first element. French: habitational name from Lutz-en-Dunois in Eure-et-Loir. This is a common name in PA and OH.

English, Scottish, Dutch, German, and Swedish: from the personal name Sander, a reduced form of Alexander. German: topographic name for someone who lived on sandy soil, from Sand 1 + -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant. Norwegian: habitational name from any of seven farmsteads so named in southeastern Norway, from the indefinite plural form of Old Norse sandr ‘sand’, ‘sandy plain’, ‘beach’.

German: from a pet form of Friedrich. It is also found as a surname in Denmark, Sweden, and elsewhere.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements agi ‘edge’, ‘point’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

North German and Dutch: variant of Thiel 1.

German: derivative of Middle High German (ge)riute ‘clearing’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing or an occupational name for a clearer of woodland. Reut(e) and Reit are frequent elements of place names, indicating location in a forest or former forest. German: derogatory nickname from Middle High German riutære ‘footpad’, ‘highwayman’; later, possibly an occupational name for a mounted soldier (see Reiter).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ragin ‘counsel’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

North German: variant of Beck 6.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Middle High German schillinc, Middle Low German schillink, German Schilling ‘shilling’. The German surname may have referred originally to a rent or fee owed, or have some other anecdotal origin, now irrecoverable. The Jewish surname is mainly ornamental. German: habitational name from Schilling in Bavaria or from places called Schillingen in the Rhineland and East Prussia.

German (southern and eastern) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for someone who made or laid wooden roof tiles, from an agent derivative of Middle High German schindel, German Schindel ‘shingle’. South German: habitational name from places named Schindel or Schindeln (see Schindel).

German: status name for a free man, as opposed to a bondsman or serf, in the feudal system, from Middle High German vri ‘free’, ‘independent’.

German, Dutch, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a short form of the Germanic personal name Heinrich (see Henry 1).

North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements eber ‘wild boar’ + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.

German and Dutch: variant of Hess.

German: variant spelling of Kuntz.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic nickname for a person with a scar, from Middle High German schram(me), German Schramme, Yiddish shram ‘scar’.

German: from the Middle High German title of nobility herzoge ‘duke’ (Old High German herizoho, from heri ‘army’ + ziohan ‘to lead’, a calque of the Byzantine title stratelates ‘general’, ‘commander’, from Greek stratos ‘army’ + elaunein ‘to lead’). The name is unlikely to refer to descent from an actual duke; it is normally an occupational name for the servant of a duke or a nickname for one who put on the airs and graces of a duke. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Herzog ‘duke’. Compare Graf and Kaiser.

Variant spelling of Rudolf, under Classicizingninfluence.

German (Grüber) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in a depression or hollow, from (respectively) Middle High German gruobe, German Grube ‘pit’, ‘hollow’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. As a Jewish name it can also be one of names randomly distributed by government officials. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): nickname from an inflected form of Yiddish dialect grub ‘rude, impolite’.

German, Scandinavian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Bavaria (German Bayern). This region of southern Germany derives its name from that of the Celtic tribe of the Boii who once inhabited this area. They were displaced in the 6th century ad by a Germanic people, the Boioarii or Baiuarii, whose name is derived from that of their Celtic predecessors.

North German: from a Low German pet form of Konrad. See Kuntz.

North German: nickname for someone with white hair or a remarkably pale complexion, from a Middle Low German witte ‘white’. South German: from a short form of the old German personal name Wittigo. English: variant of White.

Polish and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): nickname for a newcomer to a district or someone new to a profession or occupation, from a derivative of Polish nowy ‘new’. This is an extremely common Polish surname.

South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a violin player or maker, Middle High German giger (an agent derivative of gige ‘violin’), German Geiger.

German: from the German personal name Stephan, a vernacular form of Latin Stephanus (see Steven).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a builder of walls of stone or brick, from an agent derivative of Middle High German mure, German Mauer ‘wall’ (from Latin murus ‘wall’, especially a city wall). In the Middle Ages the majority of dwellings were built of wood (or lath and plaster), and this term would have specifically denoted someone employed in building defensive walls, castles, churches, and other public buildings.

(German) One who made casks, a cooper.

South German (mainly Bavaria): from a reduced form of the personal name Seifried, a variant of Siegfried. Germanized spelling of Slovenian Zajc, nickname from zajec ‘hare’.

German: status name for a village headman, from a contracted form of Middle High German schultheize. The term originally denoted a man responsible for collecting dues and paying them to the lord of the manor; it is a compound of sculd(a) ‘debt’, ‘due’ + a derivative of heiz(z)an ‘to command’. The surname is also established in Scandinavia. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Schulze (see 1 above). The reason for adoption are uncertain, but may perhaps have referred to a rabbi, seen as the head of a Jewish community, or to a trustee of a synagogue.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Middle High German bach ‘stream’ + man ‘man’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Bachman.

From the Biblical personal name Adam, which was borne, according to Genesis, by the first man. It is the generic Hebrew term for ‘man’, probably from Hebrew adama ‘earth’. Compare the classical Greek legend that Zeus fashioned the first human beings from earth. It was very popular as a personal name among non-Jews throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and the surname is found in one form or another in most of the countries of Europe. Jews, however, have never used this personal name, except in recent times under Polish and English influence. Among Scottish and Irish bearers it is sometimes a reduced form of McAdam.

North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow in low-lying marshland (see Brink).

German, Slovenian, English, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a lively and cheerful person, or, in the case of the Jewish name, an ornamental name, from a Germanic word meaning ‘finch’ (see Finch). As a Slovenian surname, it may also be a translation into German of the Slovenian surname Šinkovec (from an old spelling of šcinkovec or šcinkavec ‘finch’).

German: from Middle High German kirchenaere ‘sexton’, hence an occupational name for a priest, an assistant at a church, or the administrator of church property and possessions. German and Czech: habitational name for someone from a place called Kirchen.

German: metonymic occupational name for a smith or armorer, from Middle High German stal ‘steel’, ‘armor’.

German: variant spelling of Ulrich.

German and Dutch: from the personal name Gerlach, composed of the elements ger, gar ‘spear’ + lach, a cognate of Old High German leich ‘sport’, ‘play’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental adoption of the German name.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, from Middle High German briuwer ‘brewer’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for someone who worked with stone: a quarryman, stonecutter, or stonemason; an agent derivative of Stein. Topographic name for someone who lived on stony ground or near a prominent outcrop of rock.

German: from a short form of the personal name Dietrich.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a sheep-shearer or someone who used scissors to trim the surface of finished cloth and remove excessive nap, from German Scherer, Yiddish sherer, agent derivatives of Middle High German scheren ‘to shear’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Kurtz.

German: variant of Neumann.

South German: topographic name for someone who lived near a peat bog, Middle High German mos, or a habitational name from a place named with this word. North German (Möser): metonymic occupational name for a vegetable grower or seller, from an agent noun based on Middle Low German mos ‘vegetable’.

English, Scottish, Scandinavian, North German, and Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Brando, a short form of various compound personal names containing the element brand ‘sword’ (a derivative of brinnan ‘to flash’), of which the best known is Hildebrand. There is place name evidence for Brant(a) as an Old English personal name; however, the Middle English personal name Brand was probably introduced to England from Old Norse; Brandr is a common Old Norse personal name. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a place where burning had occurred, from Old English brand, or a habitational name from a minor place named with this word, as for example The Brand in Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. German: variant of Brandt 1. Scandinavian: from the personal name Brand, Brant, from Old Norse Brandr (see 1). Swedish: ornamental name from brand ‘fire’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name or nickname from German Brant ‘fire’, ‘conflagration’.

German: variant of Reichard (see Richard).

German: from the personal name Ulrich, Old High German Odalric, composed of the elements odal ‘inherited property’, ‘fortune’ + ric ‘power’. The name was borne by a 10th-century saint, bishop of Augsburg, whose fame contributed greatly to the popularity of the personal name in German- and Slavic-speaking areas in the Middle Ages.

Dutch, North German, and Danish: patronymic from Jan, a vernacular form of the personal name Johannes (see John).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a pet form of the personal name Heinrich.

German and Danish: ethnic name for a Wend, Middle High German wind(e). The Wends (also known as Sorbians) once occupied a large area of northeastern Germany (extending as far west as Lüneburg, with an area called Wendland), and many German place names and surnames are of Wendish origin. Their Slavic language is still spoken in the eastern part of Germany, around Bautzen and Cottbus.

German: from Middle High German bluom ‘flower’, hence an occupational name for a flower gardener or a florist. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Blume, Yiddish blum ‘flower’. Swedish: variant of Blom 1.

North German form of Walter.

German: northern and central variant of Wagner.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from Swabia (German Schwaben), from Middle High German Swap, German Schwabe ‘Swabian’. The region takes its name from a Germanic tribe recorded from the 1st century bc in the Latin form Suebi or Suevi, of uncertain origin; it was an independent duchy from the 10th century until 1313, when the territory was broken up.

German: from a pet form of Menz. German (Silesia, Saxony, Bohemia): from a pet form of the personal name Hermann or Clemens, under the influence of Czech pet forms such as Hermannec, leading to medieval name forms recorded as, for example, Hermenczel, and later Menczel.

English, French, German, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Hungarian (Urbán), and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from a medieval personal name (Latin Urbanus meaning ‘city dweller’, a derivative of urbs ‘town’, ‘city’). The name was borne by a 4th-century saint, the patron saint of vines, and by seven early popes. The Jewish surname represents an adoption of the Polish personal name.

German and Swiss German: metonymic occupational name for a catcher or seller of crabs or shellfish or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a crab, perhaps because they had a peculiar gait. The name was certainly standardized from older variants like Krevetes or Krebiss which reflect Middle Low German crevet ‘crab’, ‘shrimp’, as well as Middle High German krebez. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Krebs ‘crab’ (see 1). Danish: from krebs ‘crayfish’.

German: nickname from the small medieval coin known as the häller or heller because it was first minted (in 1208) at the Swabian town of (Schwäbisch) Hall. Compare Hall. Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from Schwäbisch Hall. German: topographic name for someone living by a field named as ‘hell’ (see Helle 3). English: topographic name for someone living on a hill, from southeastern Middle English hell + the habitational suffix -er. Dutch: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hild ‘strife’ + hari, heri ‘army’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a person with fair hair or a light complexion, from an inflected form, used before a male personal name, of German hell ‘light’, ‘bright’, Yiddish hel.

Scottish and English: from Middle English stark ‘firm’, ‘unyielding’, hence a nickname for a stern, determined, or physically strong person. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a strong, bold person, from Middle High German stark(e), German stark ‘strong’, ‘brave’.

German: topographic name for someone who lived near a beech wood, from Middle High German buoch ‘beech’ + holz ‘wood’, or a habitational name from a place named Buchholz, of which there are numerous examples, especially in northern Germany. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Buchholz ‘beech wood’ (see 1).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for an innkeeper, Middle High German wirt, German Wirt. German: status name for a man who was head of a family and master of his own household, from the same word in the sense ‘provider’. German: from a short form of Werdo, from a Germanic personal name formed with werd ‘worth’ as the first element.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with white hair or a remarkably pale complexion, from Middle High German wiz ‘white’, German weiss. German: variant of Weis. German: habitational name from any of various places named Weis(s) or Weissen. German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with wig ‘battle’ or widu ‘wood’ as the first element.

German (also Köpp): from a North German pet form of Jakob (see Jacob). German: nickname for someone with a noticeable deformity or peculiarity of the head, from Low German Kopp ‘head’. German: from the South German dialect word Kopp (also Kapp) ‘young cock’, ‘capon’, hence possibly a nickname for a young upstart or a metonymic occupational name for a keeper or breeder of poultry or game cocks. German: habitational name from a place so called in the Eifel Mountains. Hungarian: habitational name from a place so named near Naszvad. The place name is of German origin. A small plot of land near village was named Vábrikkenkopp (from German Weg Brückenkopf) by a Hungarian soldier in the Habsburg Army, who used to stand on watch at the bridge across the Vág river. The locals had difficulty with the name and later shortened it to Kopp.

from a reduced form of the personal name Rüdiger (see Rudiger). nickname from Middle High German rüegære, rüeger ‘complainer’ (earlier ‘prosecutor’).

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a left-handed person, from Middle High German linc, Dutch linker, links, Yiddish link ‘left (side)’. In Europe left-handed people were long regarded with suspicion as clumsy, awkward, deviant, and even untrustworthy.

German and Danish: from a pet form of Heinrich.

English, Welsh, German, etc.: ultimately from the Hebrew personal name yo?hanan ‘Jehovah has favored (me with a son)’ or ‘may Jehovah favor (this child)’. This personal name was adopted into Latin (via Greek) as Johannes, and has enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe throughout the Christian era, being given in honor of St. John the Baptist, precursor of Christ, and of St. John the Evangelist, author of the fourth gospel, as well as others of the nearly one thousand other Christian saints of the name. Some of the principal forms of the personal name in other European languages are Welsh Ieuan, Evan, Siôn, and Ioan; Scottish Ia(i)n; Irish Séan; German Johann, Johannes, Hans; Dutch Jan; French Jean; Italian Giovanni, Gianni, Ianni; Spanish Juan; Portuguese João; Greek Ioannes (vernacular Yannis); Czech Jan; Russian Ivan. Polish has surnames both from the western Slavic form Jan and from the eastern Slavic form Iwan. There were a number of different forms of the name in Middle English, including Jan(e), a male name (see Jane); Jen (see Jenkin); Jon(e) (see Jones); and Han(n) (see Hann). There were also various Middle English feminine versions of this name (e.g. Joan, Jehan), and some of these were indistinguishable from masculine forms. The distinction on grounds of gender between John and Joan was not firmly established in English until the 17th century. It was even later that Jean and Jane were specialized as specifically feminine names in English; bearers of these surnames and their derivatives are more likely to derive them from a male ancestor than a female. As a surname in the British Isles, John is particularly frequent in Wales, where it is a late formation representing Welsh Siôn rather than the older form Ieuan (which gave rise to the surname Evan). As an American family name this form has absorbed various cognates from continental European languages. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.) It is used as a given name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. has come to be used as a surname among families from southern India.

German (also Bärtsch): from a Slavic short form of the personal name Bartholomaeus (see Bartholomew).

shortened form of Rheinmann, a regional name denoting someone from Rhineland. from French Reimon (see Raymond). from a pet form of a Germanic personal name formed with a first element from ragin ‘advice’, ‘counsel’ or ric ‘power(ful)’, ‘rich’.

North German: from a Low German pet form of Wilhelm. English: variant spelling of Wilk.

German and Danish: variant of Hildebrand.

German, Jewish (Ashkenazic), and Slovenian: ethnic name for a Hungarian or a nickname for someone who had trade relations with Hungary, from the ethnic term Unger ‘Hungarian’ (see Ungar).

German: from Middle High German hir(t)z ‘deer’, ‘stag’; a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of deer, a nickname for someone thought to resemble a deer or stag, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a stag. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Hirsh ‘deer’, which is common because of the association of the deer with the Hebrew personal name Naphtali, deriving from the blessing by Jacob of his sons (Genesis 49: 21), in which Naphtali is referred to as ‘a hind let loose’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Hirsch or Yiddish hirsh ‘deer’, one of the many Ashkenazic surnames taken from vocabulary words denoting wildlife.

German, Hungarian (Jákob), and Slovenian: from the personal name, German and Slovenian Jakob, Hungarian Jákob (see Jacob).

English, Scottish, French, and German: from the name of the flower, Middle English, Old French, Middle High German rose (Latin rosa), in various applications. In part it is a topographic name for someone who lived at a place where wild roses grew, or a habitational name for someone living at a house bearing the sign of the rose. It is also found, especially in Europe, as a nickname for a man with a ‘rosy’ complexion. As an American surname, this name has absorbed cognates and similar-sounding names from other European languages. English: variant of Royce. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from the word for the flower (German Rose, Yiddish royz), or a metronymic name from the Yiddish female personal name Royze, derived from the word for the flower.

German and Jewish: variant spelling of Pfeiffer. This spelling of the surname is also found in Slovenia.

German: from Middle High German ackerman ‘plowman’, ‘peasant’. The German term did not have the same denotation of status in the feudal system as its English counterpart Ackerman. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Acker.

German: variant of Rode 3.

German and Jewish (southern Ashkenazic): dialect variant of Schuler. German: nickname for someone with a squint, from an agent derivative of Middle High German schilhen, schiln ‘to squint’.

German: nickname for a man of blustery temperament, from Middle High German sturm ‘storm’. It is also found in Slovenia, where it is commonly spelled Šturm. Dutch: variant of Storm. Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Sturm, Sturmi. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Sturm ‘storm’.

German: variant spelling of Westfahl.

German and Dutch: from a local form of Hans or Heinrich.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Middle High German bach ‘stream’. This surname is established throughout central Europe and in Scandinavia, not just in Germany. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Bach ‘stream’, ‘creek’. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, Middle English bache. Welsh: distinguishing epithet from Welsh bach ‘little’, ‘small’. Norwegian: Americanized spelling of the topographic name Bakk(e) ‘hillside’ (see Bakke). Polish, Czech, and Slovak: from the personal name Bach, a pet form of Bartomolaeus (Polish Bartlomiej, Czech Bartolomej, Slovak Bartolomej (see Bartholomew) or possibly in some cases of Baltazar or Sebastian).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from (respectively) Middle High German vritac and German Freitag ‘Friday’ (Old High German friatag, frijetag, a translation of Late Latin Veneris dies: Freya was the Germanic goddess of love, sometimes considered as equivalent to the Roman Venus). The German name may have denoted someone born on a Friday or who performed some feudal service then. However, Friday was considered unlucky throughout Christendom in the Middle Ages (because it was the day on which Christ was crucified), and it seems more likely that the name was given to a person considered ill-omened. It is found as a byname in this sense in Old High German. This is by far the commonest of the surnames drawn from the days of the week, followed by Sonntag ‘Sunday’, traditionally a day of good omen. Among Jews, it seems to have been one of the names that were distributed at random by government officials.

North German: variant of Witt 1. Dutch: nickname for someone with white or blonde hair or an unusually pale complexion, from Middle Dutch witte ‘white’. English: variant of White.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements engel (see Engel) + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.

German: variant spelling of Markwardt.

German and Swiss German: variant of Frick.

North German and Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Arend (see Arndt). Jewish (Ashkenazic): assimilation of the Jewish patronymic Aarons to the German name, which has a similar pronunciation.

North German: from a pet form of the personal name Lemert (see Lambert).

occupational name from Middle Low German witman ‘council member’. from a short form of the personal name Wittich + Middle Higher German man ‘man’.

German and Dutch: variant of Link.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements sigi ‘victory’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.

German: nickname from Middle High German veter(e) ‘uncle’, ‘nephew’. The word is from Old High German fetiro (a derivative of fater ‘father’), which was used more generally to denote various male relatives; the meaning of modern German Vetter is ‘cousin’.

German (also Köhl): from Middle High German kol, köl ‘cabbage’, ‘cabbage head’ (ultimately from Latin caulis ‘stalk’), hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cabbages. from the Germanic personal name Kolo.

German: from Middle High German kolbe in various meanings. The main sense is ‘mace’ or ‘cudgel’, which was both a weapon and part of an official’s insignia, in some cases the insignia of a jester. It may also be a house name: there is also record of a house named ‘zum Kolben’ in Strasbourg. In Silesia the term denoted a shock of hair or a shorn head. Any of these senses could have given rise to the surname.

North German, Dutch, and Danish: from a pet form of Hans or Heinrich. English: in part the German, Dutch, or Danish name (see 1), but possibly in some cases a variant of Scottish Hanning. Norwegian: habitational name from a farm in Trøndelag. The first element is of uncertain origin, possibly from hein ‘whetstone’; the second element is from Old Norse vin ‘meadow’. Swedish: probably of the same origin as 1.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Heinz.

variant of Noah. variant of Nowak.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements geb ‘gift’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. A saint of this name was bishop of Constance around the end of the 10th century, and his popularity may have had an influence on the continued use of the personal name into the Middle Ages.

from an agent derivative of Middle English, Middle High German rennen ‘to run’, hence an occupational name for a messenger, normally a mounted and armed military servant. variant of Rayner 1, Reiner.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a wealthy or powerful man, from Middle High German rich ‘of noble descent’, ‘powerful’, ‘rich’, German reich ‘rich’. German: from a short form of a personal name containing the Old High German element rihhi ‘power’, ‘might’.

German: variant spelling of Bayer.

Dutch and German: from a pet form of Nick, a short form of the personal name Nikolaus (see Nicholas). English: variant spelling of Nichol.

German: nickname for a blacksmith, or for a small and lively or irritable individual, from Middle High German vunke ‘spark’.

German: from Middle High German kil ‘wedge’, ‘wooden peg’, hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such pegs or for a wood chopper. Alternatively, it may be nickname for an uncouth or misshapen person (compare Keidel) or a topographic name for someone who lived on or near a wedge-shaped plot of land. Altered spelling of German Geil, nickname from Middle High German geil ‘boisterous’, ‘mischievous’, later ‘horny’.

German: probably from the personal name Ertmar, from Germanic ert-, erde ‘earth’ + mari, meri ‘famous’.

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kramer. Compare Yiddish kremer ‘shopkeeper’.

North German and Dutch: patronymic from a variant of the personal name Martin.

Dutch and North German: occupational name for a piper, Middle Low German piper. Compare German Pfeiffer. In some cases it may derive from Sorbian pipar ‘pepper’ (see Pfeffer).

North German and Dutch: patronymic from Marten. English: variant of Martins.

North German form of Bernhard.

North German and Dutch: from a pet form of the personal name Johan (see John). English: from a medieval pet form of the personal name Jehan (see John). English: in some cases, perhaps from Old Norse Anki, a pet form of a personal name with the first element Arn-, shortened from arnar, the genitive singular of orn ‘eagle’.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a tree that was particularly noticeable in some way, from Middle High German, Old High German boum ‘tree’, or else a nickname for a particularly tall person. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Baum ‘tree’, or a short form of any of the many ornamental surnames containing this word as the final element, for example Feigenbaum ‘fig tree’ (see Feige) and Mandelbaum ‘almond tree’ (see Mandel). English: probably a variant spelling of Balm, a metonymic occupational name for a seller of spices and perfumes, Middle English, Old French basme, balme, ba(u)me ‘balm’, ‘ointment’ (see Balmer).

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Middle High German, Middle Dutch, Yiddish held ‘hero’. As a Jewish name, it is often ornamental. German: from a short form of any of the Germanic personal names formed with hild ‘strife’ as the first element. English: variant of Heald.

Scottish and northern English: from the medieval personal name Will, a short form of William, or from some other medieval personal names with this first element, for example Wilbert or Willard. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream, Middle English wille (from wiell(a), West Saxon form of Old English well(a) ‘spring’). The surname is found predominantly in the south and southwestern parts of the country. German: from a short form of any of the various Germanic personal names beginning with wil ‘will’, ‘desire’.

Americanized spelling of German Konrad. In some cases the name may be French in origin, from the French form of the same name, or alternatively it may be an Americanized form of any of the various cognates in other languages, such as Dutch Koenraad or Czech Konrád.

German: occupational name for a cooper or the overseer of a wine cellar, from an agent derivative of Middle High German kuofe ‘vat’, ‘barrel’ (from Latin cupa). from an agent derivative of Middle High German kiffen ‘to quarrel’, hence a nickname for a bickerer. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Kiefer ‘pine tree’. This word, which is first attested in the early 15th century, is a blend of kien and forhe, both meaning ‘pine’. The two elements still have a separate existence: kieboom is the Dutch term for a pine tree, while in many parts of Germany the word for the tree is Föhre.

German: patronymic from Bartel 1 or 2.

German, English, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German hamer, Yiddish hamer, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of hammers, for example in a forge, or nickname for a forceful person. English and German: topographic name for someone who lived in an area of flat, low-lying alluvial land beside a stream, Old English hamm, Old High German ham (see Hamm) + the English and German agent suffix -er. Norwegian: variant of Hamar.

German: occupational name for a wheelwright or cartmaker, from Middle Low German asse ‘axle’ + the agent suffix -er. German: variant of Essner. English: perhaps a variant of Asser, itself a variant of Asher.

North German, Dutch, Danish, and English: patronymic from a short form of the personal name Herman(n) (see Hermann).

German: from a pet form of the personal name Heinrich. Dutch: variant of Hanke, a pet form of Johann.

English, German, Dutch (De Mann), and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a fierce or strong man, or for a man contrasted with a boy, from Middle English, Middle High German, Middle Dutch man. In some cases it may have arisen as an occupational name for a servant, from the medieval use of the term to describe a person of inferior social status. The Jewish surname can be ornamental. English and German: from a Germanic personal name, found in Old English as Manna. This originated either as a byname or else as a short form of a compound name containing this element, such as Hermann. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Man (cognate with 1). Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Jat) and Sikh name of unknown meaning.

German: from Middle High German vuorman ‘carter’, ‘driver’.

German: from Middle High German slegel ‘hammer’, ‘tool for striking’ (Old High German slegil, a derivative of slahan ‘to strike’), hence a metonymic occupational name for a smith or mason, or a nickname for a forceful person.

German: topographic name from Middle High German kirse ‘cherry (tree)’. It may also have been a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of cherries or a nickname for a man with a ruddy complexion. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Kirsche ‘cherry’, one of the many names taken from words for trees and other features of the natural world. The surname is from either the German or the northeastern or western Yiddish form of the word. Compare Karsh.

topographic name from Middle High German wise ‘meadow’. habitational name for someone from any of various places called Wies, Wiese, Wiesa, or possibly also Wiesau.

Jewish, English, German, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and southern Indian: derivative, via Latin Jacobus, from the Hebrew personal name ya‘aqobh (Yaakov). In the Bible, this is the name of the younger twin brother of Esau (Genesis 25:26), who took advantage of the latter’s hunger and impetuousness to persuade him to part with his birthright ‘for a mess of potage’. The name is traditionally interpreted as coming from Hebrew akev ‘heel’, and Jacob is said to have been born holding on to Esau’s heel. In English Jacob and James are now regarded as quite distinct names, but they are of identical origin (see James), and in most European languages the two names are not distinguished. It is used as a given name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. has come to be used as a surname among families from southern India.

German: nickname from Middle High German herb(e)st ‘harvest’. The modern German word Herbst has come to mean ‘Fall’, the time of year when the harvest takes place. The exact application of the nickname is not clear; perhaps it referred to a peasant who had certain obligations to his master at the time of the harvest, or it may have been acquired for some other anecdotal reason which is now lost. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from modern German Herbst ‘Fall’, perhaps reflecting the season when the name was first taken or given. In some cases, it seems to have been one of the group of names referring to the seasons that were distributed at random by government officials when surnames became compulsory. Compare Fruhling, Winter, and Summer.

German: occupational name for a roofer (thatcher, tiler, slater, or shingler) or a carpenter or builder, from an agent derivative of Middle High German decke ‘covering’, a word which was normally used to refer to roofs, but sometimes also to other sorts of covering; modern German Decke still has the twin senses ‘ceiling’ and ‘blanket’. Dutch: variant of Dekker, cognate with 1. English: variant of Dicker.

German and Western Slavic: from the pet name Klose, a Silesian derivative of the personal name Nikolaus (see Klos and Nicholas).

German (also found in Denmark): from a much reduced form of the personal name Johannes (see John) + Mann ‘man’, i.e. ‘John’s man (servant)’.

German: from a pet form of the personal name Heinrich.

German: variant of Dietrich.

North German: occupational name for a tailor, Middle Low German schrader. Compare German Schroeder.

German: epithet for a settler who was new to an area, from Middle High German niu(we) ‘new’ + (ge)bure ‘settler’, ‘resident’, ‘peasant’ (see Bauer). Jewish: either an adoption of the German surname (Jews were not usually agricultural workers at the time when surnames were acquired) or an artificial creation of a name from the German vocabulary word without any relationship to the actual occupation of the first Jewish bearer.

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a short form of the personal name Heinrich.

German (also Nölte): from a short form of any of various medieval personal names derived from Germanic personal names ending with -n + wald ‘rule’, for example Arnold and Reinwald. Compare Noll 1.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of mugs and jugs, from Middle High German kruoc ‘jug’, ‘drinking vessel’; alternatively, mostly in southern and eastern Germany, a nickname for a heavy drinker. occupational nickname for a tavern keeper, from Krug ‘inn’, ‘tavern’, especially in northern Germany.

North German form of Neumann, from Middle Low German nie + man.

Swiss German, German, and Dutch: occupational name for a mercenary soldier, Middle High German krieger (possibly from Late Latin (miles) gregarius ‘common soldier’, from grex ‘herd’,‘flock’, ‘crowd’). This name, in various spellings, is found throughout western and central Europe. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a quarrelsome person (see Krieg). Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kruger.

German (also Kühlmann): nickname from Middle High German küel ‘cool’, ‘calm’ (see Kuhl 2).

German: nickname from Middle High German kluoc ‘noble’, ‘gentle’, ‘refined’. Later the meaning changed to ‘understanding’, ‘learned’, ‘experienced’, and subsequently ‘clever’.

German: from Adler ‘eagle’, denoting someone living in a house identified by the sign of an eagle. The German noun is from Middle High German adelar, itself a compound of adel ‘noble’ + ar ‘eagle’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, being found for example in Czech, Polish, Slovenian, and Hungarian (Ádler). Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name meaning ‘eagle’.

German, Dutch, Scandinavian, and eastern and southern Slavic: from the personal name Karl, from a common Germanic word, Old High German karl ‘man’, ‘husband’, ‘freeman’. See also Carl and Charles. The popularity of this name and its cognates in central and northern Europe was greatly enhanced by its status as a royal and imperial name; in particular it was bestowed in honor of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne (in Latin, Carolus Magnus).

German: see Wideman 1.

German: from the Germanic personal name Konrad, composed of the elements kuoni ‘daring’, ‘experienced’ + rad, rat ‘counsel’. This fell together at an early date with another Germanic name, of which the first element was chunni, kuni ‘race’, ‘people’. Konrad was extremely popular as a personal name in central Europe during the Middle Ages, being a hereditary name in several princely families as well as enjoying widespread popularity among the people at large. It was also adopted as a surname by Ashkenazic Jews, Slovenians, and others.

German: reduced form of Widmer. German: occupational name from Middle High German wimmer ‘wine maker’. German: nickname from Middle High German wim(m)er ‘knotty growth on a tree trunk’. German: variant of Weimer 2. English: from the Old English personal name Winem?r, a compound of wine ‘friend’ + m?r ‘famous’.

German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): from the personal name Philipp (see Philip).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): elaborated form of Linde.

German: variant of Burkhart.

Dutch and German: nickname for a man with white or fair hair or a pale complexion, from Middle Low, Middle High German blanc ‘bright’, ‘shining’, ‘white’, ‘beautiful’, Middle Dutch blank ‘fair’, ‘white’. Variant spelling of the English and Jewish (Ashkenazic) cognate Blanc or the German cognate Blanck.

German (also Häuser) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German hus ‘house’, German Haus, + the suffix -er, denoting someone who gives shelter or protection. Compare Hausmann. variant of Hausen.

German: metonymic occupational name for a carpenter, either from Middle High German zim(b)er, zimmer ‘wood’, ‘wooden building’ or a shortening of Zimmermann.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German Walhe, Walch ‘foreigner from a Romance country’, hence a nickname for someone from Italy or France, etc. This surname is also established in Sweden. North German: from the personal name Wole, a short form of Wol(d)er (see Wahler). Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads named Val, from Old Norse vaðill ‘ford’, ‘shallows’.

German: from a reduced form of Friedrich.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for an attendant in or owner of a public bath house, from an agent derivative of Middle High German bat ‘bath’ (Old High German bad), German Bad. In former times, such attendants undertook a variety of functions, including blood-letting, tooth-pulling, and hair-cutting. Southern French: variant of Badié (see Badie).

German: from the personal name Klaus, a reduced form of Nikolaus (see Nicholas).

German: from a Germanic personal name Poppo, Boppo, of uncertain origin and meaning, perhaps originally a nursery word or a short form of for example Bodobert, a Germanic personal name meaning ‘famous leader’. It was a hereditary personal name among the counts of Henneberg and Babenberg in East Franconia between the 9th and 14th centuries. English: from a Middle English continuation of an Old English personal name, Poppa, known only from occurrences in place names.

Dutch, North German, and English: from the personal name Steffen, a vernacular form of Latin Stephanus (see Steven).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): elaborated derivative of Heine, with the addition of Mann ‘man’.

German: variant of Funk.

German and Scandinavian: variant spelling of Bernhard.

German: variant spelling of Sander. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Sander, Zander ‘pike perch’. South German: occupational name for a barber-surgeon who also pulled teeth, an agent derivative from Middle High German zan(t) ‘tooth’.

English, French, North German, Danish, Catalan, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, etc.: from the personal name Albert, composed of the Germanic elements adal ‘noble’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The standard German form is Albrecht. This, in its various forms, was one of the most popular of all European male personal names in the Middle Ages. It was borne by various churchmen, notably St. Albert of Prague, a Bohemian prince who died a martyr in 997 attempting to convert the Prussians to Christianity; also St. Albert the Great (?1193–1280), an Aristotelian theologian and tutor of Thomas Aquinas. It was also the name of princes and military leaders, such as Albert the Bear (1100–70), Margrave of Brandenburg. In more recent times it has been adopted as a Jewish family name.

North German: elaborated form of Loh.

German, Czech (Maýr), and Slovak (Majer): variant of Meyer 1. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Meyer 2.

German and Scottish: from the personal name Anders, vernacular form of Andreas. The German name is also found in Poland and has yielded a family name in Czech (Anderš).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German houbet, German Haupt ‘head’; generally, a descriptive nickname for someone with a big head, or perhaps a designation of the head of a guild or other group. It is also recorded in the Upper Rhineland as a habitational name from a house sign.

German and Dutch: from a pet form of Humbert or Humbold (a compound name with the same first element + bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’). German, Dutch, and Danish (of German origin): nickname for a busy or bustling person, from Middle High German hummel, Middle Dutch hommel ‘bee’, of imitative origin. Compare English humblebee, which in modern English has become bumblebee.

German: from an agent derivative of Middle High German brennen ‘to burn’, in various applications. Often it is an occupational name for a distiller of spirits; it may also refer to a charcoal or lime burner or to someone who cleared forests by burning. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a distiller, from German Brenner, literally ‘burner’ (see 1). English: metathesized variant of Berner 2 and 3.

German: from Middle High German probest ‘superviser’,‘provost’ (from Latin propositus), an occupational name for the head of a religious chapter or educational establishment, or, since such officials were usually clergy and celibate, a nickname probably for a self-important person. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Probst ‘provost’; the reason for its adoption is unknown.

South German: variant of Bauer.

Dutch and German: from a personal name, a derivative of the Breton personal name Iodoc (see Joyce), or from the personal name Just (see Just).

German, Dutch, and Danish: from a Germanic personal name, a derivative (originally a patronymic) of compound names beginning with hart ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.

German, English, and Dutch: status name for a freeman of a borough, especially one who was a member of its governing council, a derivative of Middle High German burc, Middle English burg ‘(fortified) town’, Middle Dutch burch. The English name is found occasionally as a surname from the 13th century onwards but is not recorded as a vocabulary word until the 16th century. The usual English term was the Old French word burgeis ‘burgess’ (see Burgess). This name is frequent throughout central and eastern Europe. It also occurs as an Ashkenazic Jewish family name, but the reasons for its adoption are uncertain. German: habitational name for someone from any of the many places called Burg.

German: topographic name for someone who lived in open country; a variant of Feld, with the addition of Middle High German man ‘man’.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements folk ‘people’ + meri, mari ‘famous’.

English, French, German, Polish, and Slovenian; Spanish and Hungarian (Jordán): from the Christian baptismal name Jordan. This is taken from the name of the river Jordan (Hebrew Yarden, a derivative of yarad ‘to go down’, i.e. to the Dead Sea). At the time of the Crusades it was common practice for crusaders and pilgrims to bring back flasks of water from the river in which John the Baptist had baptized people, including Christ himself, and to use it in the christening of their own children. As a result Jordan became quite a common personal name.

English: variant of Harold. German, Dutch, and French: from the Germanic personal name Hari(o)wald (see Harold 1). French (Hérold): status name for a herald, Old French herau(l)t (see Harold 2). Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Herold ‘herald’ (see 3).

German: from a pet form of Wenzel.

variant of Roth 1. habitational name from any of several places named Rothe, in Westphalia and Mecklenburg, or Rothau in Bavaria and Alsace.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a butcher, from Fleisch ‘flesh’, ‘meat’ + the agent suffix -er.

German: from the Germanic personal name Wigant, originally a byname meaning ‘warrior’, from the present participle of wigan ‘to fight’.

Jewish and English: patronymic from the personal name Jacob. As a Jewish surname it has also assimilated various other patronymics from the same personal name, as for example Jacobowitz.

variant of Rau. perhaps an occupational nickname for a blacksmith or charcoal burner, from Middle High German rouch, German Rauch ‘smoke’, or, in the case of the German name, a status name or nickname relating to a hearth tax (i.e. a tax that was calculated according to the number of fireplaces in each individual home).

English: from Middle English wild ‘wild’, ‘uncontrolled’ (Old English wilde), hence a nickname for a man of violent and undisciplined character, or a topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of overgrown uncultivated land. English: habitational name from a place named Wyld, as for example in Berkshire and Dorset, both named from Old English wil ‘trap’, ‘snare’. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): cognate of 1, from Middle High German wilde, wilt, German wild ‘wild’, also used in the sense ‘strange’, ‘foreign’, and therefore in some cases a nickname for an incomer.

English and German: topographic name for someone living near a hilltop or mountain peak, from Middle English knolle ‘hilltop’, ‘hillock’ (Old English cnoll), Middle High German knol ‘peak’. In some cases the English name is habitational, from one of the many places named with this word, for example Knole in Kent or Knowle in Dorset, West Midlands, etc. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a peasant or a crude clumsy person, from Middle High German knolle ‘lump’, ‘clod’, German Knolle.

German: northern and central German variant of Wagner.

German: variant of Hochmann (see Hochman), itself a variant of Hoch.

German: variant spelling of Mertz.

occupational name for a mounted soldier or knight, from Middle Low German rider, Middle High German riter ‘rider’. variant of Reuter 1. habitational name for someone from any of various places in Germany and Austria called Reit or Reith (see Reith).

German: from the Latin personal name Christus ‘Christ’ (see Christian). The name Christ (Latin Christus) is from Greek Khristos, a derivative of khriein ‘to anoint’, a calque of Hebrew mashiach ‘Messiah’, which likewise means literally ‘the anointed’. English: variant of Crist.

German and Dutch: topographic name from Middle High German hac ‘enclosure’, ‘hedge’, Middle Dutch haghe, or a habitational name from any of the many places named with this word. Shortened form of Dutch Van den Haag, a habitational name from The Hague. South German and Swiss German: from the Germanic personal name Hago, a short form of any of the various compound names beginning with hagan ‘enclosure’, ‘protected place’, ‘scrub’. Swedish: probably an ornamental adoption of the German name.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a big man, from Middle High German groz ‘large’, ‘thick’, ‘corpulent’, German gross. The Jewish name has been Hebraicized as Gadol, from Hebrew gadol ‘large’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe, not only in German-speaking countries. English: nickname for a big man, from Middle English, Old French gros (Late Latin grossus, of Germanic origin, thus etymologically the same word as in 1 above). The English vocabulary word did not develop the sense ‘excessively fat’ until the 16th century.

German (mainly Saxony): reduced form of Neubauer with excrescent -t. Compare Neuber.

German: from a pet form of any of several Germanic personal names formed with the Germanic element ric ‘power’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Raykhl, a pet form of Raykhe, which in turn is derived from Yiddish raykh ‘rich’.

Dutch, North German, and Danish: patronymic from the personal name Albert.

German: from the personal name Diel, Tiel, from Thilo, a pet form of a personal name beginning with Diet-, as for example Dietrich.

North German: patronymic from Ehlert.

South German: from a pet form of the personal names Berthold or Bernhard. Compare Betsch.

North German and Dutch: topographic name from Middle Low German hage(n), Middle Dutch haghe ‘enclosure’, ‘hedge’. German, Dutch, and Danish: from a Germanic personal name, a short form of the various compound names formed with hag ‘enclosure’, ‘protected place’ as the first element. German: nickname from Middle High German hagen ‘breeding bull’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): of uncertain origin; perhaps the same as 1. English: from an Old Scandinavian or continental Germanic personal name Hogni ‘protector’, ‘patron’ (Old Norse), Haghni (Old Danish), Hagano (Old Germanic). Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads so named, from the definite singular form of hage, from Old Norse hagi ‘enclosure’. Swedish: ornamental or topographic name from the definite singular form of hage ‘enclosed pasture’.

German: from a short form of Rupprecht. EG

English: topographic name for someone who lived by a gate or ‘hatch’ (especially one leading into a forest), northern Middle English heck (Old English hæcc), or a habitational name from Great Heck in North Yorkshire, which is named with this word. Compare Hatch. German: topographic name from Middle High German hecke, hegge ‘hedge’. This name is common in southern Germany and the Rhineland. Possibly an Americanized spelling of French Hec(q), a topographic name from Old French hec ‘gate’, ‘barrier’, ‘fence’ (compare 1), or a habitational name from a place named with this word. Shortened form of the Dutch surname van (den) Hecke, a habitational name from any of several places called ten Hekke in the Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders.

German and Dutch: nickname for someone with curly hair, from Middle High German krol ‘curly’, Middle Low German krulle ‘ringlet’, ‘curl’, Middle Dutch croel, crul (apparently a loanword from German). German and Polish: variant of Krol. German: (also Kröll): from the Germanic personal name Rollo, based on hrod ‘renown’, ‘victory’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Krol.

German: variant of Weis 1. Altered spelling of German Wiese.

German: variant of Henschel.

English: probably for the most part a topographic name for someone who lived near the trunk or stump of a large tree, Middle English stocke (Old English stocc). In some cases the reference may be to a primitive foot-bridge over a stream consisting of a felled tree trunk. Some early examples without prepositions may point to a nickname for a stout, stocky man or a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of punishment stocks. German: from Middle German stoc ‘tree’, ‘tree stump’, hence a topographic name equivalent to 1, but sometimes also a nickname for an impolite or obstinate person. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Stock ‘stick’, ‘pole’.

South German: (in Alemannic areas) from a short form of the Germanic personal name Berthold, or to a lesser extent of Bernhard.

nickname for a noisy person, from a noun derivative of Middle High German ruschen ‘to make a noise’. topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle High German rusch(e) ‘reed’.

North German and Danish: variant of Wolf.

German: from a short form of the female personal name Mechthild, composed of Germanic maht ‘might’, ‘strength’ + hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Metz in Lorraine, which took its name from a Gaulish tribe, the Mediomatrici; in the name of the place this became abbreviated to Mettis, hence the modern name. German: from Mätz, a short form of the personal name Matthias (see Matthew). North German: metonymic occupational name for a cutler, from Middle Low German messet, metset ‘knife’, ‘dagger’ or Middle High German metz(e) ‘knife’. Compare Messer 1. This name is also established in Poland.

Swedish: from rapp ‘quick’, ‘prompt’; a soldier’s name, one of the monothematic names adopted by soldiers in the 17th century, before surnames became general in Sweden. German: from Middle High German rapp, rabe ‘raven’ (German Rabe), hence a nickname for someone with black hair, or some other supposed resemblance to the bird. Compare Raven. In some cases the surname may have arisen from a house name, thus denoting someone who lived in a house distinguished by the sign of a raven.

German and Dutch: habitational name from any of the various places called Zelle or Celle, in particular Celle near Hannover, named with German Zelle ‘cell’, Middle High German zelle (from Latin cella ‘small room’), or a topographic name from this word, denoting someone who lived near the site of a hermit’s cell. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): In other cases it was an occupational name for someone who owned or was employed at a Zelle in the sense of a small workshop.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German altman, German Altmann, literally ‘old man’, applied either as a personal name or as a nickname for an older man as distinguished from a younger one.

Dutch, North German, and English: patronymic from Steffen.

German and Dutch: from Middle High German bloch, Middle Dutch blok ‘block of wood’, ‘stocks’. The surname probably originated as a nickname for a large, lumpish man, or perhaps as a nickname for a persistent lawbreaker who found himself often in the stocks. English: possibly a metonymic occupational name for someone who blocks, as in shoemaking and bookbinding, from Middle English blok ‘block’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): Americanized spelling of Bloch (see Vlach).

German: nickname from Middle High German wis(e) ‘wise’, ‘clever’, ‘experienced’, Middle Low German wis. Respelling of German and Jewish Weiss.

German, Dutch, Danish and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the personal name Moritz, a variant of Mauritz (see Morris). Among Jews it was sometimes assumed as a surname by bearers of the personal name Moses, as the two names have some phonetic similarity.

German: from Middle High German valke ‘falcon’, hence a nickname or a metonymic occupational name for a falconer. Scandinavian: ornamental name from falk ‘falcon’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Falke ‘falcon’, or, in Bohemia, from Czech vlk ‘wolf’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from Yiddish falk ‘falcon’ or from the personal name Falk with the same meaning.

German: nickname for a companionable person, from Middle High German vriunt ‘friend’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Freund ‘friend’.

South German (also common in the Czech lands): topographic name for someone who lived on a patch of bare, uncultivated land, from Middle High German (o)ed(e) ‘wasteland’. It may also be a habitational name from any of the numerous places named with this element.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): status name for someone who was master of his craft, from Middle High German meister ‘master’ (from Latin magister). The surname Meister is established throughout central Europe; in Poland it is also spelled Majster. As an Ashkenazic Jewish surname it denoted a rabbi as a leading figure in a Jewish community.

German: nickname for an eccentric or moody person, from Middle High German wunderlich ‘odd’, ‘capricious’, ‘unpredictable’ (a derivative of wunder, Old High German wundar ‘puzzle’, ‘marvel’). Jewish (Ashkenazic): probably an anecdotal nickname from Yiddish vunderlekh ‘wonderful’, ‘marvellous’, based on some now irrecoverable event, but possibly also a descriptive nickname from German wunderlich ‘odd’, ‘strange’.

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a maker of copper cooking vessels, from an agent derivative of Middle High German kezzel ‘kettle’, ‘cauldron’, Middle Dutch ketel, modern German Kessel.

German and Danish: from a short form of the personal name Giselbert (see Giesbrecht), or any other Germanic name with gisil as the first element.

South German and Swiss German: from a pet form of a short form of a personal name such as Markwardt. German: from a pet form of the personal name Mark (see Mark 4).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Buettner.

German, Swiss, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a tanner, Middle High German gerwer (from Old High German (ledar) garawo ‘leather preparer’), German Gerber.

German (also Härtwig), Dutch, and Danish (Hartvig): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hard ‘hardy’, ‘strong’ + wig ‘battle’, ‘combat’.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wig ‘war’ + land ‘land’, ‘territory’. This name was borne by the supernaturally skilled smith of Germanic folk legend, and for this reason it may in part have been given as a nickname to blacksmiths. Jewish (Ashkenazic): presumably an adoption of the German surname.

German: variant of Hauer. German: occupational name from Middle High German höuwer ‘mower’, ‘hay-maker’.

German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): from a medieval personal name composed of Middle High German got ‘God’ (Old High German got) + scalh ‘servant’, ‘serf’ (Old High German scalc).

German, English, Scottish, French, and Danish: from the Germanic personal name Bertram, composed of the elements berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’ + hrabn ‘raven’. The raven was the bird of Odin, king of the gods, in Germanic mythology. The personal name was common in France throughout the Middle Ages, where its popularity was increased by the fame of the troubadour Bertrand de Born (?1140–?1214). The spelling Bertrand is French, coined by folk etymology under the influence of the present participle ending -and, -ant. The name was taken to England by the Normans in the forms Bertran(d), Bertram, and Bartram.

English: nickname for a man with some fancied resemblance to a he-goat (Old English bucc(a)) or a male deer (Old English bucc). Old English Bucc(a) is found as a personal name, as is Old Norse Bukkr. Names such as Walter le Buk (Somerset 1243) are clearly nicknames. English: topographic name for someone who lived near a prominent beech tree, such as Peter atte Buk (Suffolk 1327), from Middle English buk ‘beech’ (from Old English boc). German: from a personal name, a short form of Burckhard (see Burkhart). North German and Danish: nickname for a fat man, from Middle Low German buk ‘belly’. Compare Bauch. German: variant of Bock. German: variant of Puck in the sense ‘defiant’, ‘spiteful’, or ‘stubborn’. German: topographic name from a field name, Buck ‘hill’.

German, Alsatian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Middle High German lure, German Lauer ‘crafty or cunning person’, ‘cheat’ (apparently originally ‘one with narrowed eyes’). German: occupational name for a tanner, Middle High German lower, from lo ‘tannin’, which is extracted from the bark of trees. South German: habitational name from Lauer in Franconia, named from the stream on which it stands.

German: variant of Rabe.

Dutch and North German: patronymic from the personal name Hinrich (see Heinrich).

English: probably from an otherwise unrecorded Old English personal name, cognate with the attested Continental Germanic form Timmo. This is of uncertain origin, perhaps a short form of Dietmar. The personal name Timothy was not in use in England until Tudor times, and is therefore not a likely source of this surname, which is medieval in origin. North German and Dutch: from a short form of the medieval personal name Dietmar.

German: from a pet form of Heinrich. Dutch and North German: from a short form of the Germanic female personal name Heila, derived from hail ‘whole’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Schweitzer.

English (mainly northern), North German, Dutch, and French: nickname for someone with a severe or pompous manner or perhaps a pageant name for someone who had played the part of a pope or priest, from Middle English pope or Old French pape ‘pope’, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch pape ‘priest’, Old French pape ‘pope’. Compare Papa. German: nickname from a baby word for ‘father’. Compare Baab.

German (of Slavic origin): from a pet form of a Slavic form of Peter.

English, Scottish, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Jewish: from the Hebrew personal name Gavriel ‘God has given me strength’. This was borne by an archangel in the Bible (Daniel 8:16 and 9:21), who in the New Testament announced the impending birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38). It has been a comparatively popular personal name in all parts of Europe, among both Christians and Jews, during the Middle Ages and since. Compare Michael and Raphael. It was the name of a famous patriarch and archbishop of Serbia (died 1659). In Russia it was the official Christian name of St. Vsevolod (died 1138). In the U.S. this name has absorbed cognate names from other European languages, for example the Greek patronymics Gabrielis, Gabrielatos, Gabrielidis, Gabrielakos, Gabrieloglou.

Southern English: topographic name for someone living by a hill. See Hill 1. German: metronymic from Hille, a pet form of the female personal name Hildegund (see Hilke). North German, Frisian, and Dutch: from a masculine personal beginning with the Germanic element hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’. German: variant of Hüller (see Huller).

German: from Middle High German runge ‘staff’, ‘stick’ (OldnHigh German runga). The precise sense of the surname is notnclear, but the vocabulary word was used in particular of the supportnrung on the side of a (ladder) wagon; thus it is possibly a metonymicnoccupational name for a wheelwright. EG

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German kelnære, Middle Dutch kel(le)nare, German Kellner ‘cellarman’. This term developed various specialized senses: a steward, an overseer in a castle, monastery, or the like, and in modern usage, a wine waiter.

German: topographic name for someone who lived on or near an oak-covered promontory, from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’ + horn ‘horn’, ‘promontory’. German: from Middle High German eichhorn ‘squirrel’ (from Old High German eihhurno, a compound of eih ‘oak’ + urno, from the ancient Germanic and Indo-European name of the animal, which was later wrongly associated with hurno ‘horn’); probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, or alternatively a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a squirrel. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental adoption of 2.

(Ger.) Shepherd [Ger. schäfer; from (with agential suff. -er) schaf, Middle High German schâf, O.H.Ger. scâf, a sheep]

North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements wig ‘battle’, ‘war’ + man ‘man’.

nickname for a cantankerous or quarrelsome person, from Middle High German griner ‘squabbler’, ‘quarreler’, an agent derivative of grin ‘loud cry’, ‘shout’. habitational name for someone from a place called Grein (see Grein 2).

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements eber ‘wild boar’ (Old High German, Old Saxon ebur) + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Hampel.

German: variant of Engel 1, with the addition of the personal suffix -mann ‘man’, sometimes denoting a pet form. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Engelman.

German (Müller) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a miller, Middle High German müller, German Müller. In Germany Müller, Mueller is the most frequent of all surnames; in the U.S. it is often changed to Miller.

German: from the personal name Appel, a pet form of Apprecht (common especially in Thuringia and Franconia), itself a variant of Albrecht. German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Low German Ap(p)el, Middle Dutch appel, or Yiddish epl ‘apple’, hence an occupational name for a grower or seller of the fruit. As a Jewish ornamental name, it is generally ornamental rather than occupational. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Apel.

German and Dutch: patronymic from Engel 1.

German: from a widespread medieval pet form of the personal name Wigand (see Wiegand).

English (Norfolk): from the medieval female personal name Moll(e), a pet form of Mary (see Marie 1). German: nickname from a dialect term for a plump, stout person. This surname is widely established throughout central Europe, from Alsace-Lorraine to Poland. Catalan: nickname for a weak or ineffectual person, from Catalan moll ‘soft’, ‘weak’ (Latin mollis). Dutch: variant of Mol 1. (van Moll): variant of Mol 2.

German: nickname for a greedy or rapacious person, from Middle High and Middle Low German gir(e) ‘large bird of prey’, ‘vulture’. Some early examples may be a habitational name from houses bearing the sign of a bird of prey or from a place named Geyer near Zwickau, in Saxony, which is probably ultimately from the same word.

from Opecz a medieval Silesian and Bohemian pet form of Albrecht (see Albert). habitational name from a place so named in Saxony.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in a new house, Middle High German niuwe hus, modern German neu Haus, or a habitational name for someone from any of several places named Neuhaus (‘new house’) in various parts of Germany and Austria, also in Bohemia.

German and Dutch: from Middle High German hech(e)t, Middle Dutch heect, hecht ‘pike’, generally a nickname for a rapacious and greedy person. In some instances it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a fisher and in others it may be a habitational name from a house distinguished by a sign depicting this fish. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Hecht or Yiddish hekht ‘pike’, one of the many Ashkenazic ornamental names taken from vocabulary words denoting wildlife.

German: habitational name for someone from a place called Wiesen, or topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow, a derivative of Middle High German wise ‘meadow’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or kept a corner shop (see Winkel), with the addition of Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’.

Scottish (Berwickshire) and Irish: from the Old Norse personal name Makkr, a form of Magnus (Old Irish Maccus). North German, Dutch, and French (Alsace): from the Germanic personal name Macco, Makko, a pet form of a compound name with the initial element mag- ‘kinsman’. Shortened form of any of the many Scottish and Irish names beginning M(a)c-.

North German: variant of Radeke.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a thorn bush or thorn hedge, from Middle High German dorn ‘thorn’, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Dorn ‘thorn’. Czech: see Dornak.

Southern German: from a pet form of the personal name Siegfried. Compare Siegel.

status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, Middle High German lehenære ‘feudal tenant’, ‘vassal’. Compare Lehmann. habitational name for someone from any of several places called Lehen, especially in Bavaria.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a pet form of the personal name Hans.

North German: from a short form of the personal name Heidrich. Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Haiso.

from Middle High German klem ‘narrow’, ‘tight’, ‘scarce’, hence a nickname for a thin or inhibited person, or alternatively a topographic name for someone living in a narrow, precipitous place, from the Middle High German noun form klemme ‘constriction’. short form of the personal name Klemens.

German: occupational name for a hunter, Middle High German wiedener (see Weidmann).

South German: from the Germanic personal name Haimo. Compare English Hammond Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish personal name Khayim, from Hebrew chayim ‘life’. Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead named Heim, from Old Norse heimr ‘home’, ‘farmstead’, ‘settlement’, or in some cases a more recent ornamental formation from heim ‘home’.

North German: variant of Eckert.

South German (Bavaria): occupational name for a cooper, from an agent derivative of Schäffl, a diminutive of the southern dialect term Schaff ‘tub’, ‘barrel’.

English: occupational and topographic name for someone who lived or worked in a forest (see Forrest). English: Norman French nickname or occupational name from Old French forcetier ‘cutter’, an agent noun from forcettes ‘scissors’. English: occupational name, by metathesis, from Old French fust(r)ier ‘blockmaker’ (a derivative of fustre ‘block of wood’). German (Förster): occupational and topographic name for someone who lived and worked in a forest (see Forst). Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Forst ‘forest’.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge or enclosure, from Middle High German hac ‘enclosure’, ‘hedge’, Middle Low German hage + mann ‘man’. Danish: either of German origin (see 1) or an occupational name for a gardener, Danish haghman.

German (Bavaria and Austria) from the personal name Giselher (see Gieseler). altered spelling of Swiss Geissler, an occupational name for a goatherd, from an agent derivative of from Middle High German geiz ‘goat’.

South German: variant of Eich, the -ler suffix denoting association.

South German (also Schüler): occupational name for a scholar or a student training to be a priest, from an agent derivative of Middle High German schuol(e) ‘school’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a Talmudic scholar or the sexton of a synagogue, from an agent derivative of Yiddish shul ‘synagogue’.

German (Bärthel): variant spelling of Bartel.

German: occupational name for a peddler or a nickname for someone who always had something to sell, from Middle High German schotte ‘peddler’. German (Schött): metonymic occupational name for a tax collector, from Middle Low German schot ‘tax’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from either German Schotte ‘Scotsman’ or German Schote ‘pod’.

Scottish, northern English, and German: from an Old English personal name composed of the elements os ‘god’ + weald ‘power’. In the Middle English period, this fell together with the less common Old Norse cognate Ásvaldr. The name was introduced to Germany from England, as a result of the fame of St. Oswald, a 7th-century king of Northumbria, whose deeds were reported by Celtic missionaries to southern Germany. The name was also borne by a 10th-century English saint of Danish parentage, who was important as a monastic reformer. Irish: adopted as an English equivalent of Gaelic Ó hEodhusa (see Hussey 1).

German (chiefly Bavaria): topographic name for someone living by a water meadow, German Au, or a habitational name for someone from a place named Au or Aue.

German and Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Michel (see Michael).

German: from a Germanic personal name, a reduced form of Reinmar, composed of the elements ragin ‘counsel’ + mari, meri ‘fame’.

German: cognate of Stump, from Middle High German stumpf ‘stump’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived on newly cleared land, or a nickname for a short, stout man.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a butcher, literally ‘meatman’, from Middle High German fleisch ‘flesh’, ‘meat’ + man ‘man’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Neubauer.

Eastern German: occupational name for an innkeeper, Middle High German kretschmar. The word is of Slavic origin. Compare Czech krcmár ‘innkeeper’.

German: habitational name from any of the many places named Steinbach, named with Middle High German stein ‘stone’ + bach ‘stream’, ‘creek’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name composed of German Stein ‘stone’ + Bach ‘stream’, or a habitational name (see 1 above).

German, Austrian: status name for a landowner, from Middle High German gebure ‘neighboring farmer’.

North German and Ashkenazic Jewish, or Americanized form of German Bräuer, an occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale, from Middle Low German bruwer or Middle High German briuwer ‘brewer’.

from a pet form of the personal name Wertwein. patronymic from Wirth 3.

German (also Swedish and Danish, of German origin): habitational name for someone from Bremen in northern Germany, or a namesake in Württemberg. spelling variant of Brehmer.

English, French, Danish, Dutch, and German: from a short form of the personal name Matthias (see Matthew) or any of its many cognates, for example Norman French Maheu. English, French, Dutch, and German: from a nickname or personal name taken from the month of May (Middle English, Old French mai, Middle High German meie, from Latin Maius (mensis), from Maia, a minor Roman goddess of fertility). This name was sometimes bestowed on someone born or baptized in the month of May; it was also used to refer to someone of a sunny disposition, or who had some anecdotal connection with the month of May, such as owing a feudal obligation then. English: nickname from Middle English may ‘young man or woman’. Irish (Connacht and Midlands): when not of English origin (see 1–3 above), this is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Miadhaigh ‘descendant of Miadhach’, a personal name or byname meaning ‘honorable’, ‘proud’. French: habitational name from any of various places called May or Le May. Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Mayen, a place in western Germany. Americanized spelling of cognates of 1 in various European languages, for example Swedish Ma(i)j. Chinese : possibly a variant of Mei 1, although this spelling occurs more often for the given name than for the surname.

German, Danish, and Dutch: from the personal name Otto (see Ott).

German: from a short form of any of various medieval personal names derived from Germanic personal names ending in -n + wald ‘rule’, for example Arnold and Reinwald. South German: nickname for a rotund or naive person, from Middle High German nol ‘hillock’, ‘knoll’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): of uncertain origin; perhaps an occupational name from Yiddish nol ‘awl’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname derived from German drei ‘three’, Middle High German dri(e), with the addition of the suffix -er. This was the name of a medieval coin worth three hellers (see Heller), and it is possible that the German surname may have been derived from this word. More probably, the nickname is derived from some other connection with the number three, too anecdotal to be even guessed at now. North German and Scandinavian: occupational name for a turner of wood or bone, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German dreien, dregen ‘to turn’. See also Dressler. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Yiddish dreyer ‘turner’, or a nickname from a homonym meaning ‘swindler, cheat’. English: variant spelling of Dryer.

North German and Dutch: patronymic from Siever.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a maker of seals or signet rings, or for an official in charge of a seal, from Middle High German sigel ‘seal’. The Jewish name can also be ornamental. German: from a medieval personal name, a pet form of the various Germanic personal names formed with sigi ‘victory’ as the first element, for example Siegfried. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Segal.

Southern English: topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, an agent derivative of Well. North German: variant of Welle, cognate with 1. German: from an agent derivative of Middle High German wëllen ‘to roll, revolve, or smear’, hence an occupational name for someone who made wattle and daub walls. German: from Middle High German wëllen ‘to cause to boil or simmer’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a smelter, cook, or the like. German: from Middle High German wëlle ‘roll’, ‘bale’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who sold cloth or wool, for example.

English: occupational name for a maker of cord or string or a nickname for a habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons, from the genitive or plural form of Old French corde ‘string’ (see Coard). Variant spelling of German Kordes. French: habitational name from any of several places called Cordes.

German: nickname from Middle High German prinze ‘prince’, presumably denoting someone who behaved in a regal manner or who had won the title in some contest of skill. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental adoption of German Prinz ‘prince’.

North German (Schröder): occupational name for a cloth cutter or tailor, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German schroden, schraden ‘to cut’. The same term was occasionally used to denote a gristmiller as well as a shoemaker, whose work included cutting leather, and also a drayman, one who delivered beer and wine in bulk to customers; in some instances the surname may have been acquired in either of these senses. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

German: from a pet form of the personal name Walter.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a brisk or active person, from Middle High German snell, German schnell ‘quick’.

German: occupational name for a charcoal burner, from Middle High German kol ‘(char)coal’ + the agent suffix -er. The form Kohler is South German; elsewhere it is usually written Köhler.

German and Swiss German (also Baumgärtner): occupational name for someone who owned or worked in an orchard, from an agent derivative of Baumgarten, or habitational name for someone from any of various minor places called Baumgarten.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a thresher, German Drescher, Yiddish dresher, agent derivatives of Middle High German dreschen, Yiddish dresh(e)n ‘to thresh’.

German: variant of Fink.

English: topographic name for someone who lived on the edge of an escarpment, from Middle English evere ‘edge’, a word that is probably of Old English origin, though unattested. English: patronymic from the Middle English personal name Ever, from Old English Eofor ‘boar’. North German and Dutch: patronymic from Evert.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ger, gar ‘spear’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

South German: from a pet form of Franz.

North German: topographic name, a variant of Horst, with the addition of Middle German man ‘man’.

German and Dutch: nickname for a lumpish person or a farmer, from Middle High German, Middle Dutch scholle ‘clod of earth’. Dutch and North German: from Middle Dutch scholle, schulle ‘flounder’, ‘plaice’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or a fish seller, or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a flouder. German (Schöll): variant of Schell.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): descriptive epithet for a wise person or counselor, from Middle High German rat ‘counsel’, ‘advice’, German Rat ‘counsel’, ‘advice’, also ‘stock’, ‘supply’. German (also Swiss Räth): from a short form of any of the various Germanic compound personal names formed with rad, rat ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ as the first element. German (Rhineland): habitational name from any of various places called Rath, which derives from Middle Low German roden, raden ‘to clear land for cultivation’. Irish: in some cases a habitational name from a place called Rath; in County Derry it is a reduced form of McIlwraith (see McIlrath).

German: variant of Ulrich.

Eastern German (of Slavic origin): from a pet form of a Slavic compound personal name with the first element Milo-, from mil ‘favor’, ‘grace’. Dutch: from a pet form of Miele 3.

German: nickname for a well-mannered and experienced person, from Middle High German schic ‘orderly’, ‘skillful’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): of uncertain origin; perhaps from a pet form of the Yiddish personal name Shimen ‘Simon’, but compare Sik.

German: from Middle High German junc herre ‘young nobleman’ (literally ‘young master’). In the Middle Ages the term denoted a member of the nobility who had not yet assumed knighthood.

English: occupational name for a hardener of metals or a baker, from an agent derivative of Middle English harde(n); this verb is known to have been used with reference to metals and to heating dough. North German, Frisian, and Danish: from a personal name, Harder, Herder. South German: topographic name or habitational name from any of the places named with Middle High German hart ‘woodland used as pasture’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German hus ‘house’ + man ‘man’, German Haus + Mann. In the Middle Ages the majority of the population lived in cottages or huts rather than houses, and in most cases this name probably indicates the steward of a great house or someone who had some other connection with the largest and most important building in a settlement. In some cases it may indicate a householder, someone who owned his own dwelling as opposed to being a tenant. Compare Haushalter.

South German: variant of Riedel.

German: nickname for a clumsy, awkward man, from Middle High German klotz ‘lump’, ‘block’, cognate with modern English clot, which is similarly used in a transferred sense to denote a stupid person. Jewish (Ashkenazic): cognate of 1, from modern German Klotz ‘lump’, ‘block’, or Yiddish klots.

North German: patronymic from the personal name Gerd, reduced form of Gerhardt.

German: variant of Dittmar. In eastern Germany this form has been used for Dittmar since the 15th century.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Middle High German, German stolz ‘magnificent’, ‘proud’, Yiddish shtolts ‘proud’.

Dutch and North German: from a short form of Thomas.

German: from Middle High German kranz ‘garland’, ‘wreath’; a metonymic occupational name for a maker of chaplets and wreaths, a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a garland, or a nickname for someone whose hair was tonsured. Dutch: variant spelling of Krans, cognate with 1. In some cases it may also be one of the several German spellings of the Slovenian habitational name Kranjec (also found as Krajnc or Kranjc), denoting someone from Kranjska province (Latin Carniola, German Krain), an old name for the historical central part of Slovenia. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Kranz or Yiddish krants ‘wreath’, ‘garland’.

German: habitational name from any of several places called Langen or Langenau in Germany, Bohemia, and Silesia. English: habitational name from any of four places in Shropshire and Staffordshire called Longner or Longnor. Longner and Longnor in Shropshire are from Old English lang ‘long’ + alor ‘alder tree’, ‘alder copse’, as is Longnor near Penkridge, Staffordshire. But Longnor, Staffordshire is from Old English lang (genitive langan) + ofer ‘ridge’.

German: from the Germanic personal name Hugo (see Hugh). Compare Hauck. Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Haug, from the indefinite singular form of Old Norse haugr ‘hill’, ‘mound’.

German, Dutch, and Jewish: Latinized patronymic from the personal name Michael.

nickname for a person with red hair, from an inflected form of Roth 1. from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hrod ‘renown’ + hari, heri ‘army’ or hard ‘strong’, ‘hardy’. variant of Roder. habitational name from any of various places so named.

German: nickname from Middle High German kal ‘bald’.

German, Dutch, and Danish: topographic name for someone who lived on a heath from Middle Low German heide ‘heath’, ‘moor’ + mann ‘man’ (see Heid).

North German: patronymic from the personal name Eggert (see Eckert). Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Egger 2. English: variant of Edgar.

German, Jewish (Ashkenazic), and French (Alsace-Lorraine): from Middle High German fust ‘fist’, presumably a nickname for a strong or pugnacious person or for someone with a club hand or other deformity of the hand. German and French (Alsace-Lorraine): from a personal name (Latin Faustus, meaning ‘fortunate’, ‘lucky’, a derivative of favere ‘to favor’). This was borne by at least one Christian martyr.

Danish, Norwegian, and North German: patronymic from the personal name Jens, a reduced form of Johannes (see John). This is Denmark’s most frequent surname.

German: from a medieval personal name, a short form of various Germanic personal names with the first element folk ‘people’. Compare Foulkes. Czech: variant of the personal name Volek. Slovenian: nickname from volk ‘wolf’.Ukrainian: Russianized form of Ukrainian Vovk, a nickname meaning ‘wolf’. Jewish (western Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Volk ‘people’. English: variant of Foulks.

German: status name denoting a peasant farmer or serf, an agent noun derivative of Kamp 1. Dutch: agent noun derivative of Kemp, i.e. an occupational name for someone who grew, processed, or used hemp. German (possibly also Dutch): habitational name from any of the twelve places named Kempen in the Dutch-German border area.

South German: nickname from Middle High German pfaffe ‘cleric’. Compare Pape.

German: in Silesia, a topographic name from Slavic olesna ‘alder’. In northern Germany it has the same meaning, but is derived from Middle Low German else ‘alder’. It may also be a habitational name from a place named with this word.

German: from a pet form of a Slavic form of the personal name Peter.

Vietnamese (Nguy[ecirctilde]n): unexplained. This was the family name of a major Vietnamese royal dynasty.

German (Swabian) and Swiss German: from a pet form of Eberhardt.

German, Danish, Czech, and Polish; Slovenian (also Kašper): see Kaspar.

German and English: topographic name for someone who lived or worked at a hall. from Hall + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. Swiss German: topographic name, a variant of Halter 1. German: variant of Heller 1.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a gossip or a glutton, from Middle High German snabel, German Schnabel ‘beak’, ‘mouth’.

Occupational name for a smith or ironworker, from Latin faber ‘craftsman’. This was in use as a surname in England, Scotland, and elsewhere in the Middle Ages and is also found as a personal name. At the time of the Reformation, it was much used as a humanistic name, a translation into Latin of vernacular surnames such as German Schmidt and Dutch Smit. Secondary surname in French Canada for Lefebvre. The name Fabert appears in Kaskaskia, IL, in 1725.

German: see Geyer. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Yiddish geyer ‘peddler’ (a derivative of geyn ‘to go’) or in some cases perhaps an unflattering name from German Geier ‘vulture’, as in 1, bestowed by non-Jewish government officials in central Europe at the time when surnames became compulsory.

German: nickname from Middle High German rab(e), rapp(e) ‘raven’. Compare Rapp 2.

Scottish and English: from a short form of Richard. Although found in every part of Britain, the form Dick is especially common in Scotland, and it was from there, in the 17th century, that the surname was taken to northern Ireland. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from Middle High German dic(ke) ‘thick’, ‘strong’, ‘stout’, or in the case of the Jewish name from modern German dick ‘fat’ or Yiddish dik. German: topographic name for someone who lived by a thicket or patch of thick undergrowth, from Middle High German dicke, a special use of dic(ke) ‘thick’. North German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name Theodicho, formed with theud ‘people’, ‘race’.

occupational name, from Middle High German schirmer ‘fencing master’, ‘street player’ (see Schermer 1). (Saxony): habitational name for someone from Schirma near Freiberg.

German: variant of Reichel 1.

North German, Dutch, and Danish: nickname for a large man, from Low German grot(h). Compare Gross.

German: variant of Kämpf (see Kampf).

English and Scottish: patronymic from the personal name Drew, a short form of Andrew. Danish, Dutch, and German: from a vernacular form of the personal name Andreas.

German: from a pet form of the personal name Dietmar (see Dittmar).

German: variant of Fritsche.

from the personal name Wittich, from a short form of a Germanic name beginning with widu ‘wood’. nickname from Middle Low German wittich ‘clever’, ‘wise’.

ethnic name for someone from Friesland. The name of this region is ancient and of uncertain origin; the most plausible speculation derives it from an Indo-European root prei- ‘to cut’, with reference to the dikes necessary for the cultivation of low-lying land. There is archaeological evidence of the construction of ditches and dams along the southern shores of the North Sea from at least the time of Christ. occupational name for a builder of dams and dikes. The word was used in this sense in various parts of Germany during the Middle Ages, and is probably a transferred use of the ethnic term, dike building being a characteristic occupation of Frieslanders. diminutive of Friedrich.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Jung. Scandinavian: from an Old Danish personal name Odhinkar, composed of the elements Óðinn (the god) + kárr ‘strong’.

German: occupational name or status name from the German word Knapp(e), a variant of Knabe ‘young unmarried man’. In the 15th century this spelling acquired the separate, specialized meanings ‘servant’, ‘apprentice’, or ‘miner’. German: in Franconia, a nickname for a dexterous or skillful person. English: topographic name for someone who lived by a hillock, Middle English knappe, Old English cnæpp, or habitational name from any of the several minor places named with the word, in particular Knapp in Hampshire and Knepp in Sussex. German and western Slavic: variant of Knabe.

Common European surname: from the personal name Abel, which is of Biblical origin and was used as a Christian name in many countries of Europe. In the Book of Genesis Abel is a son of Adam, murdered by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:1–8). In Christian tradition he is regarded as representative of suffering innocence. The Hebrew form of the name is Hevel, from a vocabulary word meaning ‘breath’. German: from the personal name Abel, a pet form of Albrecht (see Albert).

South German: variant of the occupational name Kohler. South German: from Middle High German kolli(e)r ‘leather harness’, ‘horse collar’, ‘neck piece of garment of armor’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a harness maker or armorer. German (Köller): Westphalian habitational name for someone from Cologne (German Köln); Kölle is the Rhenish dialect form of the place name.

German: variant of Enders.

German, Dutch, Polish, and Czech (Kilián): from the Irish personal name Cillín (see Killeen). The Irish missionary St. Kilian is the patron saint of Würzburg.

German and Swiss German: variant of Thomas. Greek: genitive patronymic from Thomas. Genitive patronymics are particularly associated with Cyprus.

German: from a variant of the personal name Matthäus (see Matthew). English: from a variant of the personal name Matthew.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of Old High German era ‘honor’ (compare Ehrlich) + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’. The name was popularized by the cult of an 8th century bishop of Regensburg of this name; hence the present high frequency of the family name in Bavaria. The form Erhard has also been adopted by Ashkenazic Jews.

German and Dutch: humanistic name, a Latinized form of Paul.

North German: standardized spelling of Rademaker.

German: from a dialect variant of the Germanic personal name Hugo (see Hugh).

German: patronymic from Heinrich.

North German: variant of Bode. German: metonymic occupational name for a grower of beans, from Middle High German, Middle Low German bone ‘bean’. Beans were a staple food in the Middle Ages, especially the broad bean, Vicia faba; the green bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, was not introduced from South America until the late 16th century.

Eastern German: from the Czech personal name Janek, a pet form of Jan, vernacular form of Latin Johannes (see John).

Dutch, North German, Danish, and Norwegian: patronymic from a short form of Thomas.

North German: from Middle Low German bar(e) ‘bear’, hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept a performing bear, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a bear. In some cases, it may derive from a personal name containing this element.

German: from Middle High German korn ‘grain’, a metonymic occupational name for a factor or dealer in grain or a nickname for a peasant. Dutch and German: from a short form of the personal name Cornelis or Cornelius. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Korn (Yiddish korn) ‘grain’, a metonymic occupational name as in 1, or an ornamental name. Czech: from a short form of the Czech personal name Kornel, a vernacular form of Cornelius.

German: central German dialect variant of Wagner.

German and Austrian: topographic name for someone who lived near or worked in a barn, from Middle High German schober ‘barn’, ‘haystack’.

North German and Dutch: from a pet form of Jan (see John).

German: variant of Heck 2, with the addition of the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Hacker ‘butcher’, ‘woodcutter’.

South German and Swiss German: occupational name for a turner, from an agent derivative of Middle High German dræhen, dræjen ‘to turn’. See also Dressler.

German: nickname for a ruffian, earlier for a hairy person, from Middle High German ruch, ruhe, rouch ‘hairy’, ‘shaggy’, ‘rough’. English: from a medieval personal name, a variant of Ralph. Italian (Sicily): from a local variant of the personal name Rao, an old form of Ra(o)ul, composed of the Germanic elements rad ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ + wolf ‘wolf’. Compare Ralph. Indian: variant of Rao.

German and Dutch: from the medieval personal name Heilwig, Helwig (see Helwig).

German: from a pet form of Ulrich.

nickname for a red-haired person, from Middle High German rost ‘rust’. metonymic occupational name for a limeburner or blacksmith, from Middle High German, Middle Low German rost ‘grate’, ‘grill’ or Middle High German rost(e) ‘fire’, ‘embers’, ‘pyre’, ‘grate’ (typically one for burning lime).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Meltzer ‘maltster’.

North German: variant of Borchardt.

German: metonymic occupational name for a shepherd, from Middle High German schaf ‘sheep’. In some cases it may have been a nickname for someone thought to resemble a sheep, or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a sheep. Compare Schaap.

German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of several places so named in southern Germany. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Weil.

Variant of German Eckert.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ragin ‘counsel’ + wald ‘rule’, the second element having been reinterpreted as hold ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ in the 16th century. This is also Jewish, presumably an adoption of the German surname.

Dutch: variant of Helwig.

German and Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, composed of the elements leo ‘lion’ + hard, ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

German: nickname from eastern Middle High German kluc ‘wise’, ‘prudent’, or from the western form kluoc, which had the sense ‘noble’, ‘refined’; the word came into German from Middle Dutch cloec (see Klock) via Middle Low German klok (see Kloke). Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German and Yiddish klug ‘clever’, ‘wise’.

German: variant spelling of Kurt.

Dutch, German, and Scandinavian: from the Germanic personal name Bernhard, composed of the elements ber(n) ‘bear’ + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’. In the 13th and 14th centuries it vied with Arnold as the most popular personal name in the Netherlands and northern Germany. It was borne by St. Bernard of Menthon (923–1008), founder of Alpine hospices and patron saint of mountaineers, whose cult accounts for the frequency of the name in Alpine regions. See also Bernard.

German and Czech: derivative of Klinge. German: see Klingler.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Blum. Swedish: variant of Blom 1.

North German: from Middle Low German wester ‘westerly’ + man ‘man’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived to the west of a settlement, or regional name for one who had migrated from further west.

German, Dutch, French, and English: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’ + brand ‘fire’ ‘sword’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German hærinc ‘herring’, German Hering, a nickname for someone supposedly resembling a herring or a metonymic occupational name for a fish seller. In some cases the Jewish surname is ornamental. English: variant spelling of Herring.

German and Dutch: from a Germanic personal name Liubhard, composed of the elements leuba, liuba ‘dear’, ‘beloved’ + hard ‘brave’, ‘strong’, or from Liutberht, a compound of liut, leud ‘people’, ‘tribe’ + berht ‘shining’, ‘famous’.

North German and Dutch: patronymic from Hein.

North German: topographic name from Middle Low German helle ‘precipitous terrain’, ‘steep slope’ + Mann ‘man’. German: nickname for a hellraiser, from Helle 3.

French, English, German, Danish, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian: from a personal name, a vernacular form of Latin Justus meaning ‘honorable’, ‘upright’. There were several early saints of this name, among them a 4th-century bishop of Lyon and a 6th-century bishop of Urgell in Catalonia. South and eastern German: variant of Jost.

German: status name for a feudal tenant or vassal, from an agent derivative of Middle High German lehen ‘to hold land as a feudal tenant’. variant of Leonhardt.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a gatherer of mushrooms, from Middle High German bül(e)z, German Pilz ‘mushroom’.

from a pet form of Heinrich. topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge or enclosure, from Hei ‘hedge’, ‘enclosure’. Compare Hagemann.

German and Dutch: from Middle High, Middle Low German knorre, Middle Dutch cnorre ‘knot’, ‘gnarl’, ‘protruberance’, hence a nickname for a gnarled person.

German: from a medieval personal name, formed with Middle High German trut ‘beloved’ + man ‘man’, or from an older stem, Germanic thrud ‘strength’ (Old Norse thrudr ‘divine being’), from which several personal names were formed.

German: nickname for a bold or energetic person, from Middle High German wacker ‘fresh’, ‘lively’, ‘brave’, ‘valiant’.

North German: variant of Pohl. Altered spelling of Pöhlmann (see Poehlmann).

German: patronymic from Friedrich.

German: metonymic occupational name for a maker of hats or a nickname for a wearer of distinctive hats, from Middle High German huot ‘hat’. Compare the cognates Hood and Hatt.

Dutch and German: from a pet form of the personal name Werner. German: habitational name from Wessel in Saxony.

North German: variant spelling of Theiss.

German: occupational name for someone who castrated animals (see Heiler). German: derivative of the personal name Heinrich. Compare Heimann. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements heil ‘healthy’ + man ‘man’, also used by Ashkenazic Jews.

occupational name for a sieve maker, from an agent derivative of Middle High German sib ‘sieve’. possibly a variant of Siebert.

Variant spelling of German Klaus, which is from a popular personal name, a reduced form of Nikolaus (see Nicholas). This spelling is also found in Dutch. Occitan: topographic name for someone who lived by an enclosure of some sort, such as a courtyard or farmyard, from Late Latin clausum ‘enclosure’, ‘closed’, originally the past participle of claudere ‘to close’.

North German: variant of Groth.

German: from a personal name composed of Old High Germannhrod ‘renown’ + wolf ‘wolf’, equivalent to EnglishnRalph. This name is also found in Slovenia. EG, SL

French and German: from the personal name Augustin, from Latin Augustinus (see Austin).

German: from a short form of any of the Germanic personal names beginning Willi-, as for example, Willibrant, Willihart.

North German: patronymic from Wolter.

North German: from a pet form of Gehr.

South German: variant of Hartle.

German (frequent in East and West Prussia): variant of Lüdtke (see Luedtke).

North German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ + mester ‘master’.

German: variant spelling of Rentz.

from Middle High German kunkel ‘spindle’, ‘distaff’ (from Late Latin conicula, conucula diminutive of conus ‘cone’, ‘peg’), hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of spindles or a spinner or alternatively a nickname for a tall thin person. from a medieval German personal name, a pet form of Kuno (see Kuhn). possibly from Low German kunkel ‘dugout’, ‘shelter’, or ‘deep water’, of uncertain application: perhaps a topographic name. (Künkel): habitational name from a manor near Eisenack (Thuringia) or Erkelenz (Westphalia).

German: occupational name for a fowler or birdcatcher, from an agent derivative of Vogel.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Schwartz.

South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from a Germanic personal name, but mainly a nickname for an exceptionally tall or big man, Middle High German rise, German Riese ‘giant’. In some cases the name may have been used to refer ironically to a particularly short man. South German: habitational name from any of several places named Ries. German: topographic name from Middle Low German ris ‘branch’, ‘twig’, ‘brushwood’. Altered spelling of German Riess or Reis.

German: from Middle High German kirche ‘church’ + hof ‘court’, ‘yard’, hence a topographic name for someone dwelling near a churchyard or at a farm situated by a church or owned by the Church.

South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived at, worked on, or managed a farm, from Middle High German hof ‘farmstead’, ‘manor farm’, ‘court’ + the agent suffix -er. Compare Hoffmann.

German: from a reduced form of the personal name Balthasar (see Baltazar).

German: from a reduced pet form of the Slavic personal name Stanislaw (see Stencel, Stanislaw).

German: variant of Horning 1 and 2.

Dutch and North German: nickname for a short person, from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German kort ‘short’. German (Körte): Westphalian variant of the personal name Kurt. German: from Sorbian khort ‘hunting dog’, hence possibly a nickname for someone resembling the animal in some way or for someone who kept hunting dogs. Hungarian (Körte): from körte ‘pear’, a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of the fruit.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Teich.

German: variant spelling of Ammann.

German: from a pet form of a personal name based on the Germanic element hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. Compare Hard 1.

German: topographic name from Middle High German struch ‘bush’, ‘brush’, or a habitational name from places so called in Saxony and Bohemia.

German: variant of Kretschmer.

German: variant of Vogel.

English: patronymic from the personal name Clement. German, Dutch, and Danish: from the personal name Clemens (see Clement).

North German: habitational name from any of several places called Loose, or from places called Loosen or Lohsa (see Loos). German: short form of the personal name Nikolaus, the German form of Nicholas.

German: occupational name for a joiner, from Middle High German schrinære, schriner, an agent derivative of schrin ‘chest’, ‘box’. This word and surname are found mainly in southern and southwestern parts of Germany.

German: variant of Nitsch.

German: variant of Wagner.

German: from a medieval pet form of the personal name Ludwig.

Polish (Kaminski): habitational name for someone from any of more than 60 villages and towns named Kamien, from Polish kamien ‘stone’, ‘rock’. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of the places mentioned at 1 or from places in Ukraine named Kamin, from Ukrainian kamin ‘stone’. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from any of various places named Kamionka in Polish or Kaminka in Ukrainian.

Dutch and North German: topographic name from Middle Dutch bussch, meaning ‘wood’ rather than ‘bush’, also found in place names, such as ’s Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc). German (Bösch): see Boesch. Catalan: habitational name from a place named with Bosc(h), from Late Latin boscus ‘wood’.

North German and Danish: from a Germanic personal name Hucger, a compound of hug ‘heart’, ‘mind’, ‘spirit’ + ger ‘spear’. Danish (Høyer, Højer): variant of Hoy 4.

German and Dutch: nickname for a strong, bold person, from Middle High German stark(e), Middle Dutch starck(e), staerk(e), ‘strong’, ‘brave’.

German: from a pet form of the Germanic personal name Bart, a short form of Berthold. German, Polish, Czech, and Slovak: from a pet form of a vernacular form of the personal name Bartolomaeus, German Bartolomäus, Polish Bartlomiej, Czech Bartolomej (see Bartholomew). Possibly also an Americanized form of Slovenian Bartelj, from a vernacular form of the personal name Bartolomej, LatinBartolomaeus (see Bartholomew).

from Middle Low German klatte ‘rag’, ‘low-grade wool’; also ‘tousled hair’, hence a nickname for someone with untidy hair. Silesian variant of Klette (see Klett 1).

North German: occupational name for a churchwarden or sexton, with particular reference to his task of taking the collection, Middle Low German opperman, from opper(gilt) ‘donation’ (oppern ‘to donate’, ‘to sacrifice’, Late Latin operari) + man ‘man’.

South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a butcher, Middle High German metziger, metzjer, German Metzger (probably a loan word from Latin, but of uncertain lineage).

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a lake, from Middle High German se + man ‘man’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German See ‘lake’ + Mann ‘man’.

Jewish, Welsh, Scottish, English, French, Portuguese, German, Czech, Slovak (Dávid) and Slovenian: from the Hebrew personal name David ‘beloved’, which has been perennially popular among Jews, in honor of the Biblical king of this name, the greatest of the early kings of Israel. His prominence, and the vivid narrative of his life contained in the First Book of Samuel, led to adoption of the name in various parts of Europe, notably Britain, among Christians in the Middle Ages. The popularity of this as a personal name was increased in Britain, firstly by virtue of its being the name of the patron saint of Wales (about whom very little is known: he was probably a 6th-century monk and bishop) and secondly because it was borne by two kings of Scotland (David I, reigning 1124–53, and David II, 1329–71). Its popularity in Russia is largely due to the fact that this was the ecclesiastical name adopted by St. Gleb (died 1015), one of two sons of Prince Vladimir of Kiev who were martyred for their Christian zeal.

Eastern German (Silesia; under Slavic influence): from a pet form of the personal name Nikolaus (see Nicholas).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from an inflected form of Middle High German swarz, German schwarz, meaning ‘the black one or the dark one’.

South German and Austrian: occupational name for a potter, Middle High German hafner, an agent derivative of Middle High German hafen ‘pot’, ‘dish’. This is the normal term for the occupation in southeastern Germany and Austria, and the German surname is found mainly in this area, also in Slovenia.

North German and Dutch: from a pet form of the personal name Heinrich (Dutch Hendrik) or from a variant of Hans.

North German: from a pet form of Lambert. French: metonymic occupational name for someone who cast metal lamps and candlesticks, Old French lampe. Slovenian: from a short form of the medieval personal names Lampret or Lampreht, derivatives of the German personal name Lamprecht, Latin Lambertus (see Lambert). German: from a house name in Trier, where a prominent lamp or sign of a lamp gave rise to the name.

Dutch (also de Roos) and Swiss German: habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a rose. Dutch (also de Roos): metonymic occupational name for someone who grew roses, from roos ‘rose’. Dutch: from the female personal name Rosa (Latin rosa ‘rose’). Dutch: nickname from roos ‘erysipelas’, an infection which causes reddening of the skin and scalp, applied presumably to someone with a ruddy complexion. Swiss German: from a personal name formed with hrod ‘renown’. Swedish and Danish (of German origin): as 1. Swedish: variant of Ros. English and Scottish: variant of Ross 2.

South German: patronymic from Engel.

Dutch (De Kock) and German: occupational name for a cook, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German kok. German (Köck): Bavarian variant of Keck, a nickname from Alemannic kech ‘lively’, ‘bold’.

Altered or variant spelling of Dieckmann.

Swiss, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for an argumentative person, from Middle High German, Middle Low German kriec, German Krieg ‘strife’, ‘conflict’, ‘squabble’ (Yiddish krig). German: variant of Krug.

German, Dutch, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone from the territory of Hesse (German Hessen). South German: from a short form of the personal name Matthäus (see Matthew). German and Dutch: from the Germanic personal name Hesso.

German: from the medieval personal name Rehm (see Remy). The former name was borne by a 6th-century bishop of Rheims; the latter was borne by various minor saints of the 8th to 10th centuries. German: from Middle High German reme ‘frame’, ‘loom’, ‘rack’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or used such items. North German: metonymic occupational name for a maker of leather reins and similar articles (see Riehm and Riemer).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Reinhardt.

English: variant of Ott, from the Old French oblique case. North German and Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Otto (see Ott).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Holtz.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a furtive or stealthy person, from an agent derivative of Middle High German slichen, German schleichen ‘to creep silently’.

North German and Dutch: variant of Menk.

North German: from the personal name Kersten, a Low German derivative of Christian (from Latin Christianus) (see Christian).

from a short pet form of the personal name Isenhart, from Old High German isan ‘iron’ + hart ‘hardy’, ‘strong’. from Isenlin, a compound of Middle High German isen ‘iron’ + the hypocoristic suffix -lin, hence a nickname for a blacksmith, ironworker, or dealer in iron.

from Middle High German zinke ‘peak’, acquired either as a topographic name by someone who lived on or near a crag or on a pointed piece of land or as a nickname for a man with a singularly pointed nose. Compare modern German slang Zinken ‘hooter’. The same word was used to denote the cornet, although the semantic development is not clear, and the surname may sometimes have been metonymic for a player of this instrument. It was not until the 16th century that the metal zinc was discovered and named (apparently from its jagged appearance in the furnace), so this is unlikely to be the origin of the surname.from Jacinctus, which derives from Hyacinthus, a saint's name. Compare Spanish Jacinto, Italian Giacinto.

Irish, English, and German: variant of Wild. Dutch (de Wilde) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a violent, unruly, and irascible man, from Middle Dutch wilde ‘wild’, German Wilde ‘wild man’, ‘savage’.

German: variant spelling of Rupert. EG

German: variant of Fosse.

English: metonymic occupational name for a dyer or seller of dye, from Middle English mad(d)er ‘madder’ (Old English mædere), a pink to red dye obtained from the roots of the madder plant. German and Dutch (Mader, Mäder): occupational name for a reaper or mower, Middle High German mader, mæder, Middle Dutch mader. French (southwestern and southeastern): metonymic occupational name for a carpenter.

North German: variant of Leonhardt.

German: from the name of St. Veit (Latin Vitus), patron saint against fire. In many cases this is an altered spelling of the variant Veith, written thus to preserve the German pronunciation of th as t.

Dutch and North German: variant of Kramer.

English: metonymic occupational name for a trapper, from a derivative of Middle English trapp ‘trap’. German: nickname for a stupid person, from Middle High German trappe ‘bustard’ (of Slavic origin). German: topographic name for someone living by a step-like feature in the terrain, from Middle Low German treppe, trappe ‘step’, or by a flight of steps, standard German Treppe.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge or by the boundary of an enclosure or who owned an enclosed lot in the forest, from Middle High German hecke, hegge ‘hedge’ (see Heck 2) + man ‘man’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with gray hair or a gray beard, from German grau ‘gray’. Southern French: topographic name for someone who lived near a canal giving access to the sea, Occitan grau (Latin gradus ‘step’). French: from Old French grau denoting a type of agricultural fork with curved tines (apparently of Germanic origin), hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker, seller, or user of such implements. Catalan: topographic name from grau (Latin gradum). Catalan: from a reduced form of the common medieval personal name Guerau (see Gerald).

German: occupational name for a builder, from Middle High German buwen ‘to build’ + meister ‘master’.

South German: topographic name for someone who lived at the bottom of a deep valley (see Grund, Mann).

German: from a pet form of the personal name Hampo (see Hampe). Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Hempel.

German: topographic name from Middle High German hagedorn ‘hawthorn’, from hac ‘hedge’ + dorn ‘thorn’. Compare Hawthorne. This surname is also well established in Denmark. Dutch: habitational name from the common place name Hagedoorn, of the same etymology as 1.

German and Jewish: variant of Baumgarten.

German and Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a maker of shears and scissors, or a metonymic occupational name for a cutter (of cloth, hair, etc.), from Middle High German schere, Middle Dutch sc(h)erre ‘shears’. Jewish: variant of Scher.

North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements agil ‘edge’, ‘point’ (of a sword) + hard ‘brave’, ‘hardy’, ‘strong’ or ward ‘guard’.

German: variant of Kolb.

English: variant of Ayer 1. German: occupational name for a grower or reaper of grass for hay, from Middle High German höu ‘grass’, ‘hay’ + the agent suffix -er. German: variant spelling of Heier 1. Dutch: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hagi ‘enclosure’, ‘fenced area’ + hari, heri ‘army’. Dutch: nickname from Middle Dutch (h)eiger, heeger, heger ‘heron’. Compare Heron 1.

German and Dutch: Latinized patronymic from Peter. Hungarian: habitational name for someone from any of several places so named. Italian: patronymic from the personal names Petro or Pietro.

German: topographic name for a heath dweller, a variant of Heide + the -er suffix denoting an inhabitant; or a habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Heide or Heidau (named with the same term); the place name is common in Silesia, Saxony, and Bohemia.

North German: variant spelling of Ort 3. German and French: from a short form of a compound personal name formed with ort ‘point (of a weapon)’, as the first element (for example, Ortlieb).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German pfeffer, German Pfeffer ‘pepper’, a metonymic occupational name for a spicer; alternatively, it may be a nickname for a small man (as if the size of a peppercorn) or one with a fiery temper, or for a dark-haired person (from the color of a peppercorn) or anecdotal for someone who paid a peppercorn rent.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name from (Lower) Saxony, German (Nieder-)Sachsen in northern Germany. The region is called after the Germanic tribe which settled there in Roman times and was named from a Germanic word which is preserved in Old Saxon, Old High German sahs ‘knife’, ‘sword’. (The area in central Germany named Sachsen was named after the line of princes who had the title to the northern territories in 1422.) Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): name adopted in memory of persecuted forebears, an acronym of the Hebrew phrase Zera Qodesh SHemo ‘his name is of the seed of holiness’.

Turkish: from the personal name Yilmaz ‘unyielding’.

German: from a Saxon and Silesian dialect form of a Germanic personal name composed of the elements odal ‘inherited property’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.

South German and Swiss German: occupational name for a baker, from Middle High German pfister ‘baker’ (from Latin pistor).

from a short form of any of the Low German forms of Friedrich. habitational name from a place so named in the Swiss canton of Aargau.

North German: from a pet form of the personal name Reinhard (see Reinhardt).

North German: habitational name from any of several places called Loose or Loosey. North German: from a short form of Nikolaus, German form of Nicholas. Dutch: nickname from the adjective loos ‘cunning’, ‘artful’, ‘guileful’. English: variant spelling of Loose.

German: from an inflected form of Klein ‘small’.

English: from the Old Norse personal name Keikr (from Old West Scandinavian keikr ‘bent backwards’). German: nickname from Middle High German kec ‘lively’, ‘active’ (cognate of English quick), which later changed its meaning to ‘bold’, ‘forward’, ‘fresh’.

German: variant of Steiner.

German: variant of Busch, with the addition of Middle High German man ‘man’.

German: variant of Stang.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): ethnic name for a native or inhabitant of Switzerland, from Middle High German swizer, German Schweizer.

German: topographic name denoting someone who lived to the east of a settlement or who had immigrated to it from the east, from Middle High German oster ‘eastern’ + man ‘man’, or an ethnic name from Middle High German ostermann ‘Austrian’.

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian (Dániel), Romanian, and Jewish: from the Hebrew personal name Daniel ‘God is my judge’, borne by a major prophet in the Bible. The major factor influencing the popularity of the personal name (and hence the frequency of the surname) was undoubtedly the dramatic story in the Book of Daniel, recounting the prophet’s steadfast adherence to his religious faith in spite of pressure and persecution from the Mesopotamian kings in whose court he served: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar (at whose feast Daniel interpreted the mysterious message of doom that appeared on the wall, being thrown to the lions for his pains). The name was also borne by a 2nd-century Christian martyr and by a 9th-century hermit, the legend of whose life was popular among Christians during the Middle Ages; these had a minor additional influence on the adoption of the Christian name. Among Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe the name was also popular as being that of a 4th-century Persian martyr, who was venerated in the Orthodox Church. Irish: reduced form of McDaniel, which is actually a variant of McDonnell, from the Gaelic form of Irish Donal (equivalent to Scottish Donald), erroneously associated with the Biblical personal name Daniel. See also O’Donnell.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a maker or repairer of shoes, from Middle High German schuoch, German Schuh ‘shoe’; sometimes from a house name.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): Saxon or Silesian form of Kürschner (see Kurschner).

North German: from a pet name formed with the stem of the personal name Dietrich.

variant of Wiedmann ‘huntsman’.variant of Wideman 1.

English, German, Dutch, and Jewish: from the personal name Michael, ultimately from Hebrew Micha-el ‘Who is like God?’. This was borne by various minor Biblical characters and by one of the archangels, the protector of Israel (Daniel 10:13, 12:1; Rev. 12:7). In Christian tradition, Michael was regarded as the warrior archangel, conqueror of Satan, and the personal name was correspondingly popular throughout Europe, especially in knightly and military families. In English-speaking countries, this surname is also found as an Anglicized form of several Greek surnames having Michael as their root, for example Papamichaelis ‘Michael the priest’ and patronymics such as Michaelopoulos.

German: occupational name for a maker of wooden vessels, a shortened form of Becherer, the loss of the final syllable having occurred in the 15th century. German: occupational name for someone who distilled or worked with pitch, for example in making vessels watertight, from an agent derivative of Middle High German bech, pech ‘pitch’. Scandinavian: either the German name (see 1 and 2 above) or a variant spelling of Becker. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name from Yiddish bekher ‘cup’. English: topographic name, a variant of Beech with the habitational suffix -er.

French (Hermès) and Dutch: from the Greek name Hermes, name of a saint mentioned briefly in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Dutch and North German: variant of Ermens, a metronymic from a short form of the female personal name Ermelendis or Ermgart. Dutch and German: patronymic from a short form of Herman. Southern French (Hermès): topographic name for someone who lived in a deserted spot or on a patch of waste land, from Occitan erm ‘desert’, ‘waste’ (Greek eremia) + the local suffix -ès.

South German: topographic name for someone who lived on a piece of flat ground or a plateau, from Middle High German ebene ‘plateau’ + -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant.

Dutch and German: from a pet form of a short form, Wando, of a compound Germanic personal name beginning with wand ‘to go’, ‘to migrate’. German: metonymic occupational name for a turner, from Middle High German wendel ‘to turn’ or Middle Low German wendelen ‘to turn, twist’. South German: from a short form of Wendelin.

North German and Dutch: from a reduced form of the personal name Matthias (see Matthew).

from the Germanic personal name Muoto, a short form of compound names with the first element mut ‘spirit’. nickname for a brave, determined individual, from Middle High German muot ‘high spirit’.

North German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Wolf.

German: variant of Fritsch.

German (also Kästner): from Middle High German kastner, kestner, an occupational name for the steward of a granary (kornkasten) and hence, since general taxation developed from taxes on grain, a steward or treasurer responsible for financial matters at a court, monastery, or other institution. German (also Kästner) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a joiner or furniture maker, from South German Kasten ‘box’, ‘chest’. Compare Kistner.

topographic name for someone who lived on the outskirts of a village or settlement, from Middle High German am ende ‘at the end’ (see Ende). habitational name from any of various places so called in the Rhineland and Westphalia. from a short form of the personal name Menath.

topographic name from Middle Low German hurst, Middle Dutch horst ‘undergrowth’, ‘brushwood’, ‘wild place’. More specifically, the term was also used to denote a crow’s or similar large bird’s nest, a raised area in surrounding marshland, or an area of uncleared woodland, all of which meanings could have contributed to the surname. habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.

North German and Danish: patronymic from the personal name Johann, German and Danish form of John.

South German: variant of Hauser.

German (mostly Jäger) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a hunter, Middle High German jeger(e), Middle Low German jeger(e) (agent derivatives of jagen ‘to hunt’); as a Jewish surname, it is mainly ornamental, derived from German Jäger. The surname is also established in Scandinavia (Swedish Jäger; Danish and Norwegian Jæger) and has been Latinized as Venator.

German (of Slavic origin): habitational name from a place near Stolpe in Pomerania called Reitz. German: from a late medieval short pet form of the personal name Richard or Heinrich (see Henry). Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Raytse, of Germanic origin.

North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements eo ‘law’, ‘custom’, ‘right’ (a rare element in personal names, found mostly in Old Saxon) + wald ‘rule’. This name was borne in the 7th century by two brothers (distinguished as ‘Ewald the White’ and ‘Ewald the Black’) who were missionaries in North Germany. They became the patron saints of Cologne and Westphalia, and so contributed to the popularity of the personal name (and hence the eventual frequency of the surname) in these areas.

North German: nickname for a newly arrived steward or tenant farmer, from Middle Low German nie ‘new’ + Meyer.

North German: habitational name from any of various places in East Prussia named Stamm. German and Swiss German: from Middle High German, Middle Low German stam ‘family tree’, ‘descent’, ‘stock’, hence ‘son and heir’, possibly applied as a nickname for the eldest son of a family. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Stamm ‘stem’, ‘stock’, or perhaps in some cases a short form of names such as Aronstam ‘stock of Aaron’ (the first high priest), Kohenstam ‘stock of the kohenim’ (see Cohen), and Löwenstam ‘stock of the Levites’ (see Levi and Lowe 2).

Swedish: soldier’s name from kling(a), from Swedish klinga ‘blade’. German, Danish, and Dutch: variant of Klinge.

German and Dutch: from a pet form of Hans.

North German and Dutch: patronymic from a reduced form of the personal name Wilhelm.

English (chiefly Lancashire): topographic name for someone who lived by or worked at a rough temporary shelter for animals, Middle English helm (Old Norse hjalmr, related to the Old English and Old High German words in 2 below), or a habitational name from a minor place named Helm or Helme from this word, as for example in County Durham, Northumberland, and West Yorkshire. English, German, and Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a maker of helmets, from Middle English, Middle High German, Middle Dutch helm. German and Dutch: from a medieval personal name, a short form of any of the various compound names formed with helm ‘helmet’. Compare, e.g., Helmbrecht. Scottish: habitational name from Helme in Roxburghshire (Borders). Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Helm ‘helmet’.

Vietnamese: unexplained. Chinese : origin unknown, although ancient accounts record its use in Guangdong and Henan provinces from an early date. The character for Mai also means ‘wheat’. Dutch, Danish, German, and French: variant of May.

Variant spelling of German and Dutch Kramer or its German variant Krämer. It is also found in England as a Huguenot name, presumably with this origin. English: variant of Creamer 1.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a maker of leather reins and similar articles, Middle High German riemære, German Riemer, Yiddish rimer. Compare Riemenschneider. Altered spelling of German Reimer.

Jewish, English, Dutch, and North German: from the Latin genitive Jacobi ‘(son) of Jacob’, Latinized form of English Jacobs and Jacobson or North German Jakobs(en) and Jacobs(en).

German: variant of Wieland. Jewish (western Ashkenazic): unexplained.

Dutch and North German: variant of Appel ‘apple’. North German and Dutch: from a pet form of Albrecht. Dutch (van Apel): habitational name from a place called Ap(p)el, near Groningen. Jewish (Ashkenazic): Yiddish-German variant of Apfel. See also Appel. Czech: from the German personal name (see 2).

German: from a short form of any of the various Germanic personal names with the first element hrod ‘renown’. Compare Robert, Rudiger. North German, Danish, and English: topographic name for someone who lived on land cleared for cultivation or in a clearing in woodland, from Middle Low German rode, Danish rothe, Old English rod. Compare English Rhodes. English: habitational name from any of the many places named with this word, as for example Rode in Cheshire. Slovenian: topographic name from the adjective rod ‘barren’, denoting someone who lived on a barren land. Slovenian: nickname from the Slovenian dialect word rode ‘person with disheveled hair’, a derivative of rod ‘curly’ or ‘hairy’.

South German: nickname from Middle High German tol, dol ‘foolish’, ‘mad’; also ‘strong’, ‘handsome’. South German (Döll): variant of Thiel. South German (Bavaria): topographic name for someone living in a valley, Middle High German tol ‘ditch’. North German: habitational name from Dolle, Dollen, or Döllen in Brandenburg. English: nickname for a foolish individual, from Middle English dolle ‘dull’, ‘foolish’ (Old English dol). The byform dyl(le) gave rise to Middle English dil(le), dul(le), modern English dull. Compare Dill 3.

German: diminutive of Schmidt.

English (very common in England, especially in the south Midlands, and in Wales) and German (especially northwestern Germany): patronymic from the personal name Adam. In the U.S. this form has absorbed many patronymics and other derivatives of Adam in languages other than English. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.)

German: variant of Knoblauch.

English: variant of Hill 1. North German: from the personal name Hille, a pet form of Hildebrand. Dutch: from the place name ten Hulle, from hulle ‘hill’, found in many parts of the Netherlands. Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads in southwestern Norway, mostly on islands, named Hille, from Old Norse hilla ‘terrace’, ‘ledge’.

North German and Dutch: from a variant of the personal name Martin.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, a variant of Buch + the suffix -(n)er denoting an inhabitant, or a habitational name from any of various places called Buchen, for example in Baden (east of Heidelberg). Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a scholar or scribe, from German Buch ‘book’, Yiddish bukh + the agent suffix -ner.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements sigi ‘victory’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): adoption of the German personal name Seibert as a surname.

North German: occupational name from Middle Low German hoke, hoker ‘huckster’, ‘hawker’, ‘peddler’ or possibly from Middle Low German hake ‘young fellow’. North German and Dutch: from Middle Low German hake, Dutch haak ‘hook’ (e.g. a fish-hook), perhaps a nickname for someone with some deformity such as a hunch back or a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or used hooks.

German: from Middle High German ecke ‘corner’ + stein ‘stone’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a stonemason or bricklayer, or a topographic name for someone who lived by a rocky outcrop. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Eckstein ‘cornerstone’ (see 1).

North German: variant spelling of Jantzen.

Dutch and North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of hag ‘hedge’, ‘enclosure’ + hari, heri ‘army’. from a Germanic personal name, Hadugar, composed of the elements hadu- ‘combat’, ‘strife’ + gari, from garwa ‘ready’, ‘eager’. German (also Häger): topographic name for someone who lived by a hedged or fenced enclosure, Middle High German hac. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a thin man, from Middle High German, German hager ‘thin’, ‘gaunt’. English: occupational name for a woodcutter, from an agent derivative of Middle English haggen ‘to cut or chop’.

North German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper, from Middle Low German budde ‘tub’, ‘vat’. Compare Buettner. German and Danish: from a derivative of the Germanic personal name Bodo, cognate with English Budd. English: variant spelling of Budd.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic or metonymic occupational name for someone who owned or lived by an orchard or was employed in one, from Middle High German boumgarte ‘orchard’ (a compound of boum ‘tree’ + garte ‘enclosure’), German Baumgarten. There are also several villages named with this word, and so in some cases the surname may have originated as a habitational name from one of these. As a Jewish name, it is mainly ornamental.

German: from a diminutive of Middle Low German sten ‘stone’. Compare Stein 1.

North German: variant of Gehr.

German and Swiss German (also Gläser): occupational name for a glass blower or glazier, from an agent derivative of Middle High German glas ‘glass’. This name is widespread throughout central Europe. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a glass blower or glazier, from the German word Glaser.

German (also Häcker), Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a butcher, possibly also for a woodcutter, from an agent derivative of Middle High German hacken, Dutch hakken ‘to hack’, ‘to chop’. The Jewish surname may be from Yiddish heker ‘butcher’, holtsheker ‘woodcutter’ (German Holzhacker), or valdheker ‘lumberjack’, or from German Hacker ‘woodchopper’. English (chiefly Somerset): from an agent derivative of Middle English hacken ‘to hack’, hence an occupational name for a woodcutter or, perhaps, a maker of hacks (hakkes), a word used in Middle English to denote a variety of agricultural tools such as mattocks and hoes.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with black hair or a dark complexion, from Middle High German swarz, German schwarz, Yiddish shvarts ‘dark’, ‘black’. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe.

German: occupational name for a mariner or boatman, from an agent derivative of Middle High German schif ‘ship’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Schiffer ‘boatman’, ‘skipper’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Shifre, derived from a Hebrew word meaning ‘beautiful’.

German: variant of Eckert.

North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of theod ‘people’, ‘race’ + man ‘man’.

German: from the medieval personal name Heidenrich, ostensibly composed of the elements heiden ‘heathen’, ‘infidel’ (see Heiden 2) + ric ‘power’, ‘rule’, but probably in fact a variant by folk etymology of Heidrich. The name was popular at the time of the Crusades, the sense ‘power over the heathens’ being attributed to it.

German and Swiss German (also Kügler): occupational name for a maker of hooded coats or cowls, Middle High German gugler. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Kugel with the addition of the agent suffix -er.

German (also Kröhn): nickname for a tall, thin person with long legs, from Middle High German kran, kron ‘crane’. Compare Krahn. German: from an old personal name based on Old High German gruoni ‘green’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Kron.

North German: patronymic from Ebel.

North German, Dutch, Danish, and Norwegian: patronymic from the personal name Lorenz.

German (Völz): from the personal names Vol(k)mar or Volkmer (see Vollmer).

German: from the personal name Volkmann, an elaborated form of Volk, with the addition of Mann ‘man’.

North German: patronymic from Ehlert.

German: nickname for a loud or obstreperous person, from Middle High German schel ‘noisy’, ‘loud’.

German and Swiss German: from a medieval personal name, a short form of Gerhard or a similar name, formed with the first element ger, gar ‘spear’ + the patronymic suffix -ing.

North German: from a pet form of any of the various Germanic personal names formed with ragin ‘counsel’ as the first element.

German (also Hänisch; of Slavic origin): variant of Hans.

German (also Mähler) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a painter, especially a painter of stained glass, from an agent derivative of German malen to paint (Middle High German malen, Old High German malon ‘to mark’, from mal ‘point’, ‘mark’).

North German and Dutch: from a pet form Ebbert.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Weiner.

Dutch and North German: patronymic from a pet form of the personal name Thietilo, of Germanic origin, derived from a short form of Theodoric (see Terry 1). Swedish: from an unexplained first element (see Thelander) + the common ornamental suffix -en.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German stern, German Stern ‘star’, a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a star, or a Jewish ornamental name. This name is widespread throughout central and eastern Europe. In Slovenia it is commonly spelled Štern. English: nickname for a severe person, from Middle English stern(e) ‘strict’, ‘austere’.

German: topographic name for someone who lived at the bottom of a deep valley, from Middle High German grunt ‘deep valley’, ‘valley bottom’.

German and Dutch: from the medieval personal name Heidrich, which is in some instances a variant of Heinrich (see Henry) with Heidenrich as an intermediary form (see Heidenreich) or is composed of the elements haidu ‘appearance’, ‘personality’ + rih ‘power’, ‘rule’.

German: variant of Burkhart.

Eastern German: from a medieval personal name composed of the elements got ‘God’ or god ‘good’ + walt(an) ‘rule’.

German: from Middle High German babes(t) (modern German Papst) ‘pope’, a nickname for a self-important person, one who believed in the infallibility of his own opinions.

Dutch and German: nickname for a quick, lively person, from Middle Low German rasch ‘quick’, ‘strong’.

habitational name for someone from Reis or Reissen in Bavaria (see Reis 1). occupational name from Middle High German reisære ‘warrior’, ‘traveler’. South German: topographic name for someone who lived near a thicket (see Rieser 1 and Riser 1). variant spelling of Reisser, an occupational name for a woodcutter, Middle High German risser.

Polish: nickname for someone thought to resemble a bat, from Polish dialect wieczorek ‘bat’, a diminutive of wieczór ‘evening’.

North German and French: variant of Hildebrand.

English: topographic name from Old English hamm, denoting a patch of flat, low-lying alluvial land beside a stream (often a promontory or water meadow in a river bend), or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word, for example in Gloucestershire, Greater London, Kent, Somerset, and Wiltshire. German: topographic name for someone who lived on land in a river bend, Old High German ham (see 1 above). German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from Hamm, a city in Westphalia.

English, German, French, Jewish (Ashkenazic), Lithuanian, Czech and Slovak (Jonáš), and Hungarian (Jónás): from a medieval personal name, which comes from the Hebrew male personal name Yona, meaning ‘dove’. In the book of the Bible which bears his name, Jonah was appointed by God to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh, but tried to flee instead to Tarshish. On the voyage to Tarshish, a great storm blew up, and Jonah was thrown overboard by his shipmates to appease God’s wrath, swallowed by a great fish, and delivered by it on the shores of Nineveh. This story exercised a powerful hold on the popular imagination in medieval Europe, and the personal name was a relatively common choice. The Hebrew name and its reflexes in other languages (for example Yiddish Yoyne) have been popular Jewish personal names for generations. There are also saints, martyrs, and bishops called Jonas venerated in the Orthodox Church. Ionas is found as a Greek family name. Jewish (Ashkenazic): respelling of Yonis, with Yiddish possessive -s.

variant of Ort 3. nickname for someone who acted as an arbitrator or judge casting the decisive vote in the event of a tie, Middle High German ortman.

North German: from a short form of a variant of the personal name Diederich + man ‘man’. North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a meeting place, Low German Tie. German: from a vernacular form of the Latin personal name Timotheus, from Greek Timotheos (see Timothy).

German and Swedish: humanistic name, a Latinized patronymic from the genitive case of the Latin personal name Paulus (see Paul).

German: variant of Buss. North German (Büsse): metonymic occupational name for a maker of boxes and containers or for a gunsmith, from Middle Low German büsse, busse ‘box’, ‘gun’, ‘rifle’. English: variant spelling of Buss.

Polish: habitational name for someone from Kowalskie in Poznan voivodeship or a place called Kowale. Polish and Jewish (from Poland): patronymic from Kowal, an occupational name from kowal ‘smith’, with the addition of the common surname suffix -ski.

North German and Dutch: nickname from Middle Low German schele, Dutch sche(e)le ‘squinting’, ‘with a squint’.

South German: from a pet form of the personal name Friedrich.

German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Czech and Slovak (Lukáš), etc.: from the personal name Lukas (see Lucas).

Variant of Sachs.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Morgenstern ‘morning star’, Yiddish morgn-shtern, one of the Jewish ornamental names taken from natural phenomena. German: habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by a sign depicting the morning star, Middle High German morgensterne.

North German and Dutch: patronymic from the personal name Ahler (see Ahler).

topographic name for someone who lived by a dike, typically for someone whose job was to control pumps and water levels, a variant of Dieck, with the addition of man ‘man’. from the personal name Dieck, a reduced form of the old personal name Theodicho (see Dick).

German: from a vernacular form of the personal name Paul. North German: metonymic occupational name for a pile driver, from Middle Low German pal ‘pile’, ‘post’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Maurer.

German and Scandinavian: from a medieval personal name, a pet form of Friedrich. See also Fritz. German: nickname for someone who was handsome, cheerful, or energetic, Middle High German vrisch. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name or nickname from modern German frisch, Yiddish frish ‘fresh’.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by woods used as pasture, from Middle High German hart. German: from a short form of a Germanic compound personal name beginning with hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. Dutch: variant spelling of Hard 2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Hart.

Dutch, North German, Danish, and Norwegian: patronymic from the personal name Claus, a reduced form of Nikolaus (see Nicholas).

North German: variant of Eberhardt.

German: variant spelling of Obermeyer.

North German: variant of Strater.

German: variant of Schultz 1.

North German: patronymic from Reimer.

nickname from Middle High German ran ‘slim’, ‘slight’. from a short form of the Slavic personal name Ranislav.

North German, Dutch, and Scandinavian: regional name for someone from Holstein, Danish Holtsete ‘person from Holstein’. Dutch: habitational name from Holst in Limburg.

South German: derivative of Peter.

from the Middle English personal name Henn(e), a short form of Henry. from Middle English hen(e) ‘hen’ (Old English henn, related to hana ‘cock’), applied as a metonymic occupational name for a keeper or seller of poultry or as a nickname, perhaps for a fussy man. Dutch: from a short form of the personal name Johannes (see John); or a variant of Hein. German: variant of Henne 1 and 3.

status name from Middle Low German homan, denoting someone of high social class (Middle Low German ho ‘high’ + man ‘man’). variant of Hoffmann 1.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from German Ochs ‘ox’, Middle High German ohse; probably a nickname for a strong or lumbering individual, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who tended or drove oxen, or for a cattle dealer. In some cases the surname was a habitational name derived from an inn sign. As a Jewish name it is often ornamental.

German: from a variant of the personal name Anders, vernacular form of Andreas.

German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Hertz.

North German, Frisian, Danish, and Norwegian: patronymic from Paul.

English: from the Norman personal name Bernier. English: from Old English beornan ‘to burn’, hence an occupational name for a burner of lime (compare German Kalkbrenner) or charcoal. It may also have denoted someone who baked bricks or distilled spirits, or who carried out any other manufacturing process involving burning. English: occupational name for a keeper of hounds, from Old Norman French bern(i)er, brenier (a derivative of bren, bran ‘bran’, on which the dogs were fed). Southern English: topographic or occupational name for someone who lived by or worked in a barn, from Middle English bern, barn ‘barn’ + the suffix -er. Compare Barnes. German: habitational name, in Silesia denoting someone from a place called Berna (of which there are two examples); in southern Germany and Switzerland denoting someone from the Swiss city of Berne. German: from the Germanic personal name Bernher meaning ‘lord of the army’. North German: occupational name for a lime or charcoal burner (cognate with 2), from an agent derivative of Middle High German brennen ‘to burn’.

German: occupational name for a man who worked in a cellar (see Keller).

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a silk weaver, from an agent derivative of Middle High German side, German Seide ‘silk’.

German and Danish: from the Germanic personal name Baldo, a short form of the various compound names with the first element bald ‘bold’.

from a Germanic personal name composed of Old High German heim ‘home’, ‘house’ or amal ‘strength’ + rihhi ‘powerful’, ‘rich’. habitational name from any of the places on the Lower Rhine named Emmerich.

German and Dutch: from a short form of the personal name Roger. North German and Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a grower of rye or a baker of rye bread, from Low German, Dutch rogge ‘rye’.

English and Scottish: extremely common and widely distributed topographic name for someone who lived on or by a hill, Middle English hill (Old English hyll). English: from the medieval personal name Hill, a short form of Hilary (see Hillary) or of a Germanic (male or female) compound name with the first element hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’. German: from a short form of Hildebrand or any of a variety of other names, male and female, containing Germanic hild as the first element. Jewish (American): Anglicized form of various Jewish names of similar sound or meaning. English translation of Finnish Mäki (‘hill’), or of any of various other names formed with this element, such as Mäkinen, Heinämaki, Kivimäki.

German (also Armbrüster): occupational name for a soldier armed with a crossbow or for a maker of crossbows, from an agent derivative of armbrust ‘crossbow’ (see Armbrust).

English, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a spindle maker, from an agent derivative of Middle English spindle, Middle High German spindel, German Spindel, Yiddish shpindl ‘spindle’, ‘distaff’.

German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elementsnhrod ‘renown’ + berht ‘bright’ (another form of whichnis Robert).

topographic name for someone who lived in a depression or hollow, from Middle High German gruobe ‘pit’, ‘hollow’. See also Gruber. from a personal name Grubo, which merged completely with 1.

German: variant of Hinz.

English: of uncertain origin. Reaney gives it as a variant of Mangnall, which he derives from Old French mangonelle, a war engine for throwing stones. It may alternatively be identical in origin with the German name in 2 below, but there is no evidence of its introduction to Britain as a personal name by the Normans, which is normally the case for English surnames derived from Continental Germanic personal names. German and French: from a Germanic personal name Managwald, composed of the elements manag ‘much’ + wald ‘rule’.

German: variant of Kunrat (see Konrad).

German and Dutch: from a common and long-established vernacular personal name, an aphetic form of Johannes (see John). The surname is also borne by Ashkenazic Jews, presumably as an adoption of the German or Dutch surname. Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Arora) and Sikh name, from Sanskrit hamsa ‘swan’, ‘goose’, based on the name of an Arora clan.

English: variant spelling of Saylor. German: variant of Seiler.

South German: occupational name for a beekeeper, Middle High German zideler.

North German and Danish: elaborated form of Till, with the addition of -mann ‘man’.

North German, Dutch, and Danish: topographic name or status name for the owner of a farm, or occupational name for someone who worked on the main farm in a community, from Middle High and Low German hof ‘farmstead’, ‘manor farm’, or habitational name from any of the many places named with this word. Compare Hofer. Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Hov, from Old Norse hof ‘sacrificial temple’.

German: habitational name from any of several places so named. German: topographic name from fields so named because they were cultivated only in the summer, from Middle High German sumer, Middle Low German somer ‘summer’ + Middle High German, Middle Low German velt ‘open country’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name composed of German Sommer ‘summer’ + Feld ‘field’. Compare Sommer. English: variant of Summerfield.

South German: nickname for a restless, cantankerous man, from Middle High German brem(e) ‘horsefly’, a derivative of bremen ‘to buzz or grumble’ . German: topographic or habitational name from a field named with Brem ‘swampy bank’, simply as Brehm, Brem, or Bräm, or in compounds such as Bremgarten, Bremkamp. In Switzerland the regular spelling of this name is Bräm.

from a short form of the medieval personal name Pankratz, a vernacular form of Latin Pancratius (see Pankratz), bestowed in honor of St. Pancras, one of the three ‘ice saints’ martyred under Diocletian. variant of Kraatz 1. from an old personal name formed with Old High German gratag ‘greedy’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German lerche, German Lerche ‘lark’, probably a nickname for someone with a good singing voice, or a metonymic occupational name for a bird-catcher. As a Jewish surname, it is most probably ornamental.

Polish, Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic), and eastern German: habitational name from any of various places named with Slavic grab ‘hornbeam’ (the wood which was used for making yokes), for example Grabów, Grabowa, Grabowo.

German: from a medieval personal name Palmatius, borne by a saint who died in 286. Northwest German: topographic name from Middle High German palme, balme ‘pussy willow’, the tree that traditionally provided the branches for Palm Sunday processions, or habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a palm tree. German: from a reduced and altered form of a personal name formed with Old High German bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’ as its first element. Swedish: ornamental name from palm ‘palm tree’. Dutch: nickname for someone who had been on pilgrimage to the Holy Land (see Palmer), from palm ‘palm tree’. Dutch (Van Palm): habitational name denoting someone from any of several minor places called Palm or Palme. Translation of French Lapalme.

German and Swiss German (Grünwald): habitational name from any of various places named Grün(e)wald, from Middle High German gruene ‘green’ + walt ‘wood’, ‘forest’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental surname, with the same meaning as 1.

German: habitational name from any of numerous places so named, compare Lauter, + Middle High German bach ‘stream’.

English: from the medieval personal name Hobb(e) (see Hobbs). Dutch: from Middle Dutch hoppe ‘hops’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of hops. Dutch: from a pet form of the personal name Hubrecht (see Hubert). South German: variant of Hoppe 3. North German form of Hopf.

(Silesian) nickname for a gnarled person, from Middle High German knur(e) ‘knot’, ‘gnarl’. habitational name for someone from either of two places in Thuringia called Knau.

German: from a byname from Middle High German erlich ‘respected’, ‘honorable’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname or ornamental name from German ehrlich ‘honorable’, ‘honest’, or Yiddish erlekh ‘honest’, ‘virtuous’.

variant spelling of Boltz. variant of Bohls.

German: variant spelling of Kreutzer.

North German: patronymic from Hermann.

English: variant spelling of Butcher. German: topographic name for someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, from Middle High German buoche ‘beech tree’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. German: habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Buch. French (Bûcher): occupational name for a logger or woodsman, from a derivative of buche ‘log’.

German: variant of Rabe.

German and Dutch: from Petri, a Latinized patronymic from Peter. Probably also a variant of Scottish Petrie.

(Höllmann): variant of Hellmann 2. (Hollmann): topographic name from hol ‘hollow’, ‘cave’, ‘bog’ (see Holle 2) + Mann ‘man’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Dressler. Drechsler became the standard German term for the occupation of wood turner.

German, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish: variant of Fries.

Danish and Norwegian: variant of Christensen. North German: patronymic from Christian.

German: variant of Wilken. English: patronymic from Wilkin.

Dutch and North German: patronymic from the personal name Wessel 1.

Swiss German, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Reiff.

German: variant of Oxner.

patronymic from a dialect variant of Wenzel. occupational name for a furrier, from Middle High German vech ‘colorful (fur)’.

from Middle High German kummer, kumber ‘grief’, ‘distress’, ‘trouble’, hence a byname for someone who had suffered some loss or other misfortune; or alternatively a topographic name of the same origin for a person living near a rubble heap. Kummer is also a slang word for a penitentiary, and in some instances the surname may have arisen as nickname for a prisoner or a jailer. possibly a derivative of the medieval personal name Kunemar, of which the first element is from Old High German kuoni ‘bold’ or chunni ‘people’ (see Konrad); the second is from Old High German mari ‘fame’, ‘glory’.

German: variant of Fichter.

From the personal name Andres, a vernacular form of Andreas in various European languages, including Spanish Andrés, French (Breton) Andrès, German Andres, Czech Andrejs, etc.

Swedish: ornamental name from lind ‘lime tree’ + either the German suffix -er denoting an inhabitant, or the surname suffix -ér, derived from the Latin adjectival ending -er(i)us. English (mainly southeastern): variant of Lind 2. German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Linden or Lindern, named with German Linden ‘lime trees’.

English, German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle English, Middle High German, Yiddish finger (modern German Finger), probably applied as a nickname for a man who had some peculiarity of the fingers, such as possessing a supernumerary one or having lost one or more of them through injury, or for someone who was small in stature or considered insignificant. As a Jewish name, it can also be an ornamental name.

German: from Middle High German ris ‘undergrowth’, ‘brushwood’; a topographic name for someone who lived in an overgrown area, or a habitational name from Reis or Reissen in Bavaria, named with this word. German: occupational name for a cobbler, Middle High German riuze. Compare Reuss. German: variant of Reiss 2, or from the Huguenot name Ris. Altered spelling of German Ries. Portuguese and Galician: from a short form of dos Reis ‘(of) the (Three) Kings’, a personal name popularly bestowed on someone born on the feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. This is a frequent family name in southern Portugal. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rice or an ornamental name from German Reis ‘rice’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Reis ‘twig’, ‘branch’. Turkish: from reis ‘boss’, ‘chief’, ‘head of a business enterprise’. A Greek derivative of this is also found as a surname, in the form Reizis.

Dutch: variant of Mark 1. Dutch: (van de Merk): variant of Mark 4. German: from a short form of the personal name Markwardt.

South German: variant spelling of Eigner.

German (Göbel): from the personal name Göbel, a pet form of the Old High German name Godebert, composed of the elements god ‘good’ or god ‘god’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’.

Dutch, Norwegian, and Danish: patronymic from the personal name Franz. Swedish (Franzén): from the personal name Franz + -én, from Latin -enius ‘descendant of’.

North German and Dutch: topographic name from Middle Low German struk, Middle Dutch struuc ‘bush’.

German: from the Germanic personal name Sigihart, a compound of sigi ‘victory’ + hart ‘hard’.

variant of Klein. from a reduced form of the medieval personal name Kleinhart, from Middle High German klein ‘small’ + hart ‘strong’.

German: from Middle High German welsch, walsch ‘person from a Romance country (especially Italy)’, ‘foreigner’, hence an ethnic name or in some cases perhaps a nickname for someone who had trading or other connections with the Romance countries.

German: from Middle High German hoch ‘high’; a habitational name from any of various places named Hoch, or a topographic name for someone who lived in an area of high land, or a descriptive nickname for a tall man, from the same word. Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a tall person, from German hoch ‘tall’, Yiddish hoykh. Czech: from a pet form of the personal name Hodislav, composed of the elements hodi- ‘to be fit or suited’ + slav ‘glory’, ‘splendor’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a grower or seller of oats, composed of the elements Haber + the agent suffix -mann.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a drovers’ road, Middle High German vihewec, from vehe, vihe, vich ‘cattle’ + wec ‘way’, ‘path’. The surname originated chiefly in Saxony, Silesia, and Bohemia.

South German: from a pet form of the personal name Seibold (see Seibold) or Seibert. Jewish (Ashkenazic): unexplained.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a short-tempered man, from Middle High German zorn ‘wrath’, ‘anger’.from a Slavic word (e.g., Sorbian corny ‘black’). Compare Czerny. Slovenian (western Slovenia): of uncertain origin. It may be connected with the Friulian dialect personal name Zorz (see George).

North German, Scandinavian, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Dreyer.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for a heathland dweller, from Heide ‘heath’ (see Heid) + mann ‘man’.

North German and Dutch: from the personal name (see Heinrich).

German: variant of Wiegand.

German (Silesia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Austria): from Middle High German metze, a small dry-measure for grain or flour, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of measures or for a miller’s assistant (who measured the quantity of flour due to the miller as payment in kind). South German: occupational name for a butcher, from an agent derivative of Middle High German metzjen, metzigen ‘to butcher’. German: habitational name for someone from Metzen in Lower Bavaria.

North German form of Fries 1. Dutch: variant of Frese. English: metonymic occupational name for a weaver of frieze, a coarse woolen cloth with a thick nap, Old French frise.

German: metonymic occupational name for a grower of hops or dealer in hops, or a metonymic occupational name for a brewer, from the use of hops in the manufacture of beer, from Middle High German hopfe ‘hops’.

German (southern and eastern): possibly a variant of Busch, but probably in some instances of the same origin as Pueschel.

nickname for a wise man, from an agent derivative of Middle High German wisen ‘to teach’. variant of Weisser.

Dutch and German: from a Germanic personal name, Boso, most probably from an element meaning ‘leader’, ‘nobleman’, or ‘arrogant person’.