1000 Most Common Last Names in Switzerland

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 of Schmidt.

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

German: status name for a free man in the feudal system, a variant of Frey.

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: from Middle High German widemer ‘tenant of land or property belonging to a church’, an agent derivative of widem ‘prebend’. German: variant of Wittmer 1. English: habitational name from Widmere in Ibstone, Buckinghamshire, named from Old English widig ‘willow’ + mere ‘pool’.

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.

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’.

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.

Swiss German: Alemannic form of Weiss.

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.

English and Dutch: occupational name from Middle English suter, souter, Middle Dutch sutter ‘shoemaker’ (Latin sutor). German: variant of Sauter.

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

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

German: variant spelling of Kuntz.

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: 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.

Swiss German: from a pet form of Martin 1. Italian: probably from medieval Greek Martios ‘March’, a nickname for someone who was born or baptized in March or had some other association with the month. Catalan (Martí) and southern French (Occitan): from the personal name Martí (see Martin). Hungarian: topographic name from mart ‘small hill’, ‘waterfront’. Hungarian: from Marti, a pet form of the personal name Márton, Hungarian form of Martin.

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 and Scandinavian: from the personal name Christen, one of numerous vernacular forms of Latin Christianus (see Christian).

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).

Swiss German: from a pet form of the personal name Egenolf or Egilolf (see Egloff). Possibly also Norwegian, a habitational name from a farm named Eik(e)li, from eik ‘oak’ + li ‘hillside’, ‘slope’.

Southern French and Swiss French: occupational name for a smith or ironworker, Occitan fevre (Latin faber ‘craftsman’). Compare Faber.

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.

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

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

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.

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 Swiss German (also Gässer) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in a side street or alley, from a derivative of Middle High German gazze, German Gasse, Yiddish gas.

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.

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 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.

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: habitational name for someone from any of various places in Bavaria named Weng or Wengen.

Swiss German: from a pet form of the personal name Burkhard (see Burkhart).

Swiss German: topographic name from the regional term furre ‘cleft in the ground’.

South German: topographic name for someone who lived on a corner (either a street corner, or the corner of a valley running around a mountain), from an altered form of Eck + the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant. Dutch and German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements agi ‘point (of a sword)’ + heri ‘army’. South German(Swabia): occupational name for a farmer, from an agent derivative of eggen ‘to harrow’. English: variant of Edgar 1.

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

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.

Swiss German: habitational name for someone from either of the places called Hunzikon and Huntziken in Switzerland.

German: habitational name for someone from any of several places named Leuenberg, as for example one in Brandenburg, named with Leu (‘lion’) as the first element.

South German and Swiss German: occupational or status name from Amtmann ‘official’, dialect Ammann (Middle High German ambet man, literally ‘retinue man’, ‘retainer’). This came to denote various kinds of administrator, including a tax farmer.

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.

English: variant of Huck. German and Dutch: from the personal name Hug or Hugo, equivalent of English Hugh.

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.

This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the tanner,' one who tanned leather. the Frenchtan, 'the bark of a young oak, wherewith leather is tanned': Cotgrave (v. tan, Skeat). Hence Barker, which see.Ansketill le Tanur, 1189: The Pipe Rolls, or Sheriff's Annual Accounts of the Counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Durham during the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John.

English and South German: occupational name for a shoemaker or cobbler (rarely a tailor), from Middle English suter, souter, Middle High German suter, sutære (from Latin sutor, an agent derivative of suere ‘to sew’).

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, Swiss German (also Bläser), and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German blasaere ‘blower’, German Bläser, hence an occupational name for a musician who played a wind instrument. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Blas.

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.

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’.

Spanish and southern French (Occitan): from Spanish and Old French rey ‘king’ (from Latin rex, genitive regis), which could have been applied any of in numerous ways: it may have denoted someone in the service of a king; it may have been from the title of someone in a brotherhood; or a nickname for someone who behaved in a regal fashion or who had earned the title in some contest of skill or by presiding over festivities. English: variant spelling of Ray 1, cognate with 1. German: from a short form of a Germanic personal name formed with ragin ‘counsel’. German: nickname for a leader of dancing or singing, from Middle Low German rei(e) ‘(line) dance’, ‘(satirical) song’.

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.

Swiss German: variant of Gieseler. Altered spelling of German Geisler.

Swiss German: topographic name in the form of a prepositional phrase, ze bünden ‘at the enclosure’ (i.e., the common property of a village).

German: habitational name for someone from a place named Siegent(h)al (‘Siegen Valley’) in Switzerland.

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.

Swiss German: from an Old High German personal name Zougo, perhaps related in meaning to ziehen ‘to pull’.

South German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone living by a Fanghaus, literally ‘capture house’, a building or enclosure in which live animals captured by hunting were kept.

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).

North German: variant spelling of Imhoff.

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.

Italian (chiefly Milan): habitational name for someone from Bernasca in Como province.

Swiss German: Alemannic form of the habitational name Andermatt.

North German: occupational name for a gatekeeper, from Middle Low German port(e) ‘gate’ (from Latin porta) + man ‘man’, or a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a fortified town. Compare Porter.

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.

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.

Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing, Swiss German Liechti.

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 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 shoemaker, from Middle High German schuoch ‘shoe’, German Schuh + an agent derivative of machen ‘to make’.

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

topographic name for someone living by a tree stump (see Stock 2) or an occupational name for a tree cutter, from Middle High German stocken ‘to clear land’. from Middle High German stocker ‘jailer’.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational nickname for a miller, from Middle High German stoup, German Staub ‘dust’. The Jewish surname may also be ornamental.

Swiss or Americanized spelling of German Geiger.

English (Essex) and German (also Häsler): topographic name from Middle English hasel, Middle High German hasel + the English and German agent suffix -er. English: habitational name from Haselour in Staffordshire or Haselor in Warwickshire and Worcestershire, named with Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + ofer ‘hill’, ‘ridge’. Variant of German Hassler.

French: from a diminutive of Old French roche ‘rock’ (see Roche).

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.

Swiss German: from a derivative of the Latin personal name Hilarius (see Hillary).

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.

German: occupational or status name for someone who worked or lived at the principal farm on an estate, from Middle High German hof ‘farmstead’, ‘manor farm’ + stete ‘place’. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from any of various places called Hofstetten, in particular one in Bavaria.

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.

Variant of Zehner.

South German (also Stütz): topographic name from the dialect word stutz ‘steep slope’. German: metonymic occupational name for a wood turner who made a particular type of wooden vessel, Middle High German stutze.

habitational name for someone from any of various places named Rohne, Rohna, or Ronau (see Rohn 2). topographic name for someone living by an area of dead trees, from Middle High German ron(e) ‘fallen tree’, ‘block of wood’. from a Germanic personal name formed with rune ‘rune’.

German: occupational name, from Middle High German weibel ‘bailiff’, ‘court usher’.

Americanized or Dutch spelling of Schneider.

German: nickname from Middle High German witewer ‘widower’.

German: habitational name for someone from Eichenberg.

variant of Steger. occupational name from Middle High German stiger ‘foreman’, ‘mine inspector’. habitational name for someone from Steige in Alsace.

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.

German and Swiss German: habitational name for someone from any of the many places named with Middle High German ror ‘reed bed’ or ror ‘well’, ‘channel’ (see Rohr).

Swiss German: variant of Bollinger.

South German (especially Swiss): topographic name for someone who lived near a ravine or gorge, from Middle High German southern dialect tobel ‘gorge’ + -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant.

German: occupational name for a sexton or churchwarden, Middle High German sigriste.

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

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: variant of Siegrist.

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.

South German, Swiss German, southern French, and English: from the personal name Marty, a pet form of Martin.

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.

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.

German: variant spelling of Lantz.

French and Catalan: descriptive nickname for a man with white or fair hair or a pale complexion, from Old French, Catalan blanc ‘white’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German blank ‘bright’, ‘shiny’.

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.

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

German: from an altered form of the personal name Bernhard. A similar alteration is Betschold from Berthold.

South German (Löcher): habitational name for someone from any of several places in Bavaria and Austria named Lochen or Lohen.

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: 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.

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.

Dutch: variant spelling of Mathis.

Italian: patronymic from Rosso. This is the commonest surname in Italy. It is also found as a family name in Greece.

South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for a dirty or slovenly person, from German Schmutz ‘dirt’, Middle High German smuz. South German: nickname for a cheerful person, from a noun derivative of Middle High German smutzen ‘to smile’.

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 (also Küster): status name for a sexton or churchwarden, Middle High German kuster (Late Latin custor ‘guard’, ‘warden’). The umlaut of the modern form is due to association with other agent nouns in -er, from Old High German -ari (Latin -arius). Slovenian (Kušter): nickname for a person with disheveled hair, from kušter ‘tuft of hair’, ‘towhead’.

German (Müller) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): see Mueller. Dutch: variant of Mulder.

German: elaborated form of Stein, with the addition of Middle High German man ‘man’.

occupational name for a maker or seller of beakers or mugs, from an agent derivative of Middle High German stouf ‘beaker’, ‘stoup’. habitational name for someone from any of the various minor places named with this word, for example Stauf, Staufen; the reference is to hills thought to resemble a beaker in shape.

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: from an agent derivative of Middle High German graben ‘to dig or excavate’, hence an occupational name for a digger of graves or ditches, or an engraver of seals. This name is also found in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a grave-digger, either from German Gräber or from a Yiddishized form of Polish grabarz.

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’.

English (especially Yorkshire) and Scottish: occupational name for a fuller, Middle English walkere, Old English wealcere, an agent derivative of wealcan ‘to walk, tread’. This was the regular term for the occupation during the Middle Ages in western and northern England. Compare Fuller and Tucker. As a Scottish surname it has also been used as a translation of Gaelic Mac an Fhucadair ‘son of the fuller’.

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.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a nut tree (see Nussbaum).

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

Swiss German: variant spelling of Jenny.

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

Swiss German (Äbi): from a pet form of the personal name Adalbert (see Albert).

Variant of Swiss German Hochstetler.

English, French, German, and Dutch: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements ric ‘power(ful)’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’.

Swiss German: topographic name for someone living ‘at the water channels’, from a dialect word wa(h)l ‘channel’, in particular one used for irrigation.

German and Swiss German: occupational name for a journeyman, from Middle High German kneht, Middle Low German knecht ‘knight’s assistant’, ‘lad’, ‘servant’, ‘hired hand’, ‘apprentice’, ‘helper’.

Swiss German: variant of Wehrle.

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

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.

English: variant of Fleury. Swiss German: variant of Flory 2.

French: probably a topographic name for someone who lived in marshy terrain, from a derivative of ros ‘reed’.

German: variant of Wille.

Swiss German: variant spelling of Reiser 1.

German, Jewish (Ashkenazic), and Polish: variant of German Guth.

German and Swiss German: occupational name for a vine-dresser or vintner, from Middle High German rebe ‘vine’ + -er agent suffix. German and Swiss German: from a Germanic personal name, Radobert, formed with rad, rat ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ + berht ‘bright’.

German: variant spelling of Mertz.

variant of Thal with the addition of Middle High German man ‘man’. (Thälmann): from a personal name from Old High German diot ‘people’, ‘tribe’ (Germanic þeudo-) + man ‘man’.

Eastern German: probably a patronymic from Metel, a pet form of the personal name Matthias (see Matthew). Swiss German: habitational name for someone from any of the many places in Switzerland called Mettlen.

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.

Variant spelling of German Ithen, from a female personal name (see Ittner).

Spanish (García) and Portuguese: from a medieval personal name of uncertain origin. It is normally found in medieval records in the Latin form Garsea, and may well be of pre-Roman origin, perhaps akin to Basque (h)artz ‘bear’.

German: variant of Heinig.

Swiss German: patronymic from Glaus.

German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of various places named Niederberg, for example in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Rhineland Palatinate.

Dutch and French: from a variant of the personal name Mathias (see Matthew). English: patronymic from a pet form of Matthew.

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: variant spelling of Wirtz.

French: occupational name for a scribe or secretary, or for a member of a minor religious order, Old French clerc, Latin clericus (see Clark).

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.

South German variant of Zink 2.

South German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived near the boundary fence of a village, from Middle High German eter ‘woven boundary fence’. German and Dutch: from Middle High and Low German etter ‘uncle’ or ‘cousin’.

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.

Italian: patronymic or plural form of Ferraro.

English and Scottish: occupational name for a seller of spices and perfumes, from an agent derivative of Middle English, Old French basme, balme, ba(u)me ‘balm’, ‘ointment’ (Latin balsamum ‘aromatic resin’). South German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of the places in Switzerland and Baden called Balm, which almost certainly get their names from a Celtic word meaning ‘cave’. German: from the Germanic personal name Baldemar, composed of the elements bald ‘bold’ + mar ‘famous’.

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 (Swiss, Bavarian, and Austrian): variant of Drechsel.

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.

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.

South German: habitational name for someone from Wals near Salzburg. German: variant of Walliser.

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

South German and Swiss German: metonymic occupational name for a ferryman, from Middle High German ver(e). The name is common in Zurich, where, according to Bahlow, a journeyman of the boatmen’s guild named Feer is recorded in 1468.

Italian: from Bianco.

South German: topographic name from Middle High German schoche ‘barn’, ‘haystack’ (compare Schober). Dutch and German: variant of Schock.

German and Swiss German: occupational name for a goatherd, from a derivative of Middle High German geiz ‘goat’.

South German: topographic name for someone who lived by a gorge, Middle High German gevelle, or a habitational name for someone from any of various places in Bavaria and Austria named from this word.

Swiss German: variant of Eisele.

Jewish (from Ukraine): occupational name, the Yiddishized form of Ukrainian sidlyar ‘saddler’.

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

North German and Dutch: from Middle Low German lewe ‘lion’, a nickname for a brave or regal person, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a lion.

French: variant spelling of Raymond.

Swiss German and Austrian: topographic name for someone living near or at the foot of a steep mountainside, German am Stutz ‘at the escarpment’.

South German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements land ‘land’, ‘territory’ + walt ‘power’, reign.

German: variant of the topographic name Feld, or habitational name for someone from a place named with this word.

South German and Swiss German: variant spelling of Tschantz.

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

English, German, and Swiss German: variant of German. German: variant of Gehrmann.

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.

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’.

South German: occupational name for a trader in rags, from the dialect word hodel, hudel ‘rag’.

variant of Meinders. distinguishing nickname from Middle High German, Middle Dutch minder ‘smaller’, ‘younger’.

German: habitational name or a topographic name, from Middle High German affolter, affalter ‘apple tree’, a common South German toponym.

Swiss German: probably a habitational name for someone from a place called Eggenberg near Ravensburg.

German: Germanized form of Slavic Zemba ‘farmer’.

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.

Variant spelling (mainly Swiss) of Eisler.

Swiss German: from a diminutive of Messer ‘knife (maker)’.

German: nickname for someone who had returned to a place on one occasion or more, from Middle High German widerker ‘return’.

Swiss German: topographic name composed of the Middle High German elements burc ‘castle’ (originally also ‘protection’) + halter from halde ‘slope’, hence a name for someone living by a castle or fortified town.

German: nickname for someone farming or occupying newly cleared land, from Middle High German niuwe ‘new’ + swant ‘land cleared of forest’, or a habitational name for someone from Neuenschwand in Bavaria.

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 spelling of Hermann.

South German: variant of Bauer.

Swiss German: diminutive of Hirsch.

French and English (Norman and Huguenot): topographic name for someone who lived in a wood, from the fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’ + French bois ‘wood’ (see Bois). In both England and America the name has been translated as Wood.

South German: topographic name from Middle High German slâte ‘reedy place’, or a habitational name from any of several places named Schlatt, from the same word.

English and French: from the Middle English, Old French personal name Perrin, a pet form of French Pierre (see Peter).

equivalent of Mailhot. from a Germanic personal name: according to Morlet, Magilhard, composed of the elements magil, an augmented form of magin, magan ‘strength’, ‘might’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. Debrabandere, however, derives it from the Germanic personal name Madelhard, from madal ‘council’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’. There are Huguenot families bearing this name.

Swiss German: habitational name from a place called Grossenbach.

Swiss German: from a pet form of Jähn, Alsatian and Swiss form of the personal name Johannes (see John). English: variant spelling of Jenney.

German: metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker, from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a tub. Swiss German: habitational name from a place so named, denoting an alpine stream.

German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Schneeberg.

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’.

Italian, Spanish, and Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived near a spring, from Romance descendants of Late Latin fontana, a derivative of classical Latin fons, or in Italy possibly a habitational name from any of the numerous minor places named with this word. The surname is also established in Portugal, imported form Italy.

French: from a pet form of the personal name P(i)erre, French form of Peter. English (Bristol): variant of Parrott

German: topographic name from Middle High German riet ‘damp, mossy ground’, ‘wet land’ + -er suffix denoting an inhabitant, or habitational name from any of the numerous places named with this word.

German and Swiss German: variant of Gehring.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a hatter from an agent derivative of Middle High German huot ‘hat’; Yiddish hut, German Hut ‘hat’. German (Hütter): topographic name from Middle High German hütte ‘hut’. English: when not of German origin (see above), perhaps a variant of Hotter, an occupational name for a basket maker, Middle English hottere; the same term also denoted someone who carried baskets of sand for making mortar. Alternatively it may have denoted someone who lived in a hut or shed, from a derivative of Middle English hotte, hutte ‘hut’, ‘shed’.

German (also Büser): nickname for a glutton, Middle Low German buser, an agent derivative of busen ‘to indulge’. Compare Buseman. This name is also found in Slovenia. Swiss German: habitational name for someone from a place called Buus.

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).

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

French: occupational name for a carpenter or joiner, a derivative of Old French chapuiser ‘to cut’ (Late Latin cappulare, of uncertain origin).

German: diminutive of Strebe.

topographic name for someone who lived on a plateau, from Middle High German plate, blate ‘flat surface’, ‘plateau’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. habitational name for someone from Blatten near St. Gallen, Switzerland. The place name refers to a promontory of the Alps, a wide elevated plateau.

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, 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 by a meadow, from Matte 1 + -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant. English and Dutch: occupational name for a maker of mats, from an agent derivative of Middle English matte, Middle Dutch mat ‘mat’.

North German: variant of Wetzstein, from Middle Low German wetsten ‘whetstone’.

German: variant spelling of Oberholtzer.

French: from French grand ‘tall’, ‘large’ + Jean (French equivalent of John), hence a nickname (‘Big John’), or a distinguishing name for the older of two bearers of the same personal name. As a nickname it may have been applied in a literal or ironical sense, or as a means of distinguishing between members of the same family with a common personal name. This is a common name in Switzerland, and in some instances may have been brought to the U.S. from there.

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.

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.

Spanish (Fernández): patronymic from the personal name Fernando. The surname (and to a lesser extent the variant Hernandez) has also been established in southern Italy, mainly in Naples and Palermo, since the period of Spanish dominance there, and as a result of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century, many of whom moved to Italy.

Swiss German: variant of Oblinger.

Spanish (Rodríguez) and Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Rodrigo.

German: occupational name for a herdsman, Middle High German hirt, cognate with English Heard.

English: occupational name for one whose job was to bore holes in something, Middle English borer. Swiss German: variant of Bohrer.

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.

from the male personal name Manasseh, Hebrew Menashe ‘one who causes to forget’ (see Manasse), borne in the Middle Ages by Christians as well as by Jews. Hebrew Menashe and its reflexes in other Jewish languages have always been popular among Jews. occupational name for someone who made handles for agricultural and domestic implements, from an agent derivative of Anglo-Norman French mance ‘handle’ (Old French manche, Late Latin manicus, a derivative of manus ‘hand’).

German: occupational name for an extractor or seller of salt, from Middle High German salz ‘salt’ + man ‘man’.

(Führer): occupational name for a carrier or carter, a driver of horse-drawn vehicles, Middle High German vüerer (from the Middle High German verb vüeren ‘to lead’, ‘transport’). See also Fuhrmann. topographic name for someone who lived near a ferry or ford, a derivative of Fuhr + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.

Swiss German: probably from a metonymic occupational name for a jacket maker, from Middle High German jop(p)e, juppe ‘jacket’ (schope, schoppe), a loanword from Italian g(i)ubba; in some instances the surname may have arisen from a nickname for someone who wore jackets that were remarkable.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow, from Middle High German wase ‘water meadow’, ‘pasture’ + -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant. Compare Wasmer. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Wasser.

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’.

Portuguese, Galician, and Jewish (Sephardic): topographic name from Portuguese pereira ‘pear tree’, or a habitational name from a place named with this word in Portugal and Galicia. The surname is also common in western India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists.

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): 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.

Swiss German: topographic name from the South German dialect term gubel ‘mountain crest’, ‘rocky outcrop’ + the -er suffix denoting an inhabitant.

German: byname for someone in the service of a lord and his family, from a genitive plural form of Middle High German her ‘nobleman’, ‘lord’, as in Herrendorf, habitational name for a place near Küstrin; or the nicknameHerrenhans, for someone named John in the service of a nobleman; Herrenknecht, a servant in a noble family; or Herrenschneider, a tailor hired by a nobleman.

Swiss German: from a pet form of the personal name Nikolaus (see Nicholas).

South German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived an der Egge, dialect for an der Ecke ‘on the edge (of a village, etc.)’.

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: variant of Burkhart.

Galician and Portuguese: common topographic name for someone who lived by a forge or iron workings, from Latin ferraria ‘forge’, ‘iron working’.

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.

South German and Swiss German: habitational name for someone from Signau near Bern, Switzerland.

German: habitational name from any of the various places (including one in Switzerland) that get their names from an uncertain first element + Old High German ecka, egga ‘corner’, ‘bend’, ‘nook’.

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.

South German, Austrian, and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived ‘in the (valley) bottom’, from Middle High German bodem, boden ‘floor’, ‘bottom’, ‘ground’ (cf. Boden).

German: habitational name for someone from some place called Zollingen, probably named with German Zoll ‘customs post’. There were customs posts at river ports as well as at national frontiers.

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

French: occupational name for a baker, Old French fournier (Latin furnarius), originally the man responsible for cooking the dough in the fourneau ‘oven’ (see Baker). This surname is frequently Americanized as Fuller.

South German and Swiss German: variant of Habecker.

French: occupational name for a traveling boilermaker.

Dutch and German (southwestern and Switzerland): from Middle Dutch maech, mage, Middle High German mac, mage ‘relative’, ‘kinsman’.

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.

French: nickname from a diminutive of More 4 or 5.

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.

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.

Swiss German: variant of Zimmerle.

Swiss German: perhaps an occupational name for a builder of fireplaces and chimneys or a derogatory nickname for someone allowed his chimney to catch fire (for which the owner was fined), from Middle High German kamen ‘chimney’, ‘fireplace’ + the base of the agent noun from the verb zünden ‘to set on fire’, ‘burn’.

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’.

Swiss German: perhaps a variant of Farni, a topographic name for someone who lived in an area with ferns, from Middle High German varn.

English: from a pet form of Matthew. Dutch: from a derivative of Mattheus (see Matthew). German: from a shortened form of Matthäus (see Matthew).

German: variant of Berthold.

Swiss German: spelling variant of Hefty, from Middle High German heftec, heftic ‘durable’, ‘strong’, later ‘severe’, ‘violent’.

French: from a pet form of the French personal name Jacques. English: variant of Jackett, under French influence.

Swiss German: probably a habitational name from Rechtenstein, near Ehingen, Swabia.

Swiss German: variant of Hedinger.

German (Köcher): from Middle High German kochaere ‘vessel’, ‘container (for transporting fish)’, ‘quiver’, hence a metonymic occupational name maker of these. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a cook, from an agent derivative of German kochen ‘to cook’. Compare Koch. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from Yiddish kacher ‘drake’. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Yiddish kochere ‘poker’, ‘fork’.

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).

from a short form of any of thenvarious personal names beginning with the Old High German elementnhrod ‘renown’, for example Rudolf. occupationalnname for a cobbler, Middle Low German rutze,nruce. habitational name from a place so named innSwitzerland. EG

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

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

Dutch, Swiss, and German: patronymic from a short form of Thomas.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a box tree or thicket, Middle High German buhs. Compare Box.

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

French: from a pet form of Bernard.

Swiss German: variant spelling of Ramseyer (see Ramseur).

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.

South German: from a pet form of Werner.

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.

English: from the Anglo-Scandinavian personal name Ingell, Old Norse Ingjaldr (see Ingle). Swiss German: from the Germanic personal name Ingwald, formed with Ing- (see Ingle 1) + walt(an) ‘to rule’.

German: topographic name for someone living by an oak tree, or habitational name for someone from a place called Eiche or Eichen. See Eich. South German: occupational name for a person who checked weights and measures against official specifications, from Middle High German icher.

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.

Swiss and South German: nickname for a greedy person, fromnMiddle High German ruoch ‘eager’, ‘intent’. German:nnickname for an unkempt or rough person, from Middle Low Germannru(ch), Middle High German ruch ‘shaggy’, ‘rough’,n‘crude’, ‘hard’. EG

habitational name from any of several places so named in Bavaria, Württemberg, and Tyrol. patronymic from Riese.

French: derivative of or nickname from the personal name Jean (French form of John).

Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a wheelwright, from Middle Dutch nave, naef ‘hub’. Variant of Swiss German Näf (see Neff).

Spanish (López): patronymic from the medieval personal name Lope (from Latin lupus ‘wolf’). This is one of the commonest of all Spanish surnames.

German: occupational name for a winnower, someone who used a winnowing basket or fan to separate grain from chaff (see Wannemacher). German: topographic name for someone who lived in a basket-shaped valley or on a basket-shaped knoll (see Wann), the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.

German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous willow tree or a group of such trees, from Middle High German velwe ‘willow’ (presumably from an unrecorded Old High German cognate of Old English welig). As a vocabulary word this has now been entirely supplanted by Weide. Both words ultimately derive from a root meaning ‘bent’, ‘twisted’, and refer to the useful suppleness of willow twigs. Some examples of the surname may derive from places called Felben, from the dative plural of the word (originally used after a preposition). Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name, from the tree (see 1).

French: from a pet form of the personal name Nicolas (see Nicholas).

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.

from the medieval personal name Fleuri (Latin Florius, a derivative of the Roman family name Florus, from flos ‘flower’, genitive floris). This name was borne by a 3rd-century saint martyred in Nicomedia under the emperor Decius. There seems to have been some confusion with a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hlod ‘fame’ + ric ‘power’. habitational name from any of the various places in northern France which get their names from the Gallo-Roman personal name Florus (see above) + the locative suffix -acum. nickname from Old French fluri ‘flowered’, ‘variegated’ (a derivative of flur Flower). This could have denoted someone who dressed in an extravagant mixture of colors or perhaps one who had a blotchy complexion.

South German: habitational name for someone from any of various places called Laub, Laube, or a similar name.

Swiss and German (also Niederhäuser): habitational name from any of numerous places named Niederhaus or Niederhausen, denoting the lower of two dwellings or settlements or one in a low-lying position.

German: variant of Schneid.

South German: from a diminutive of Middle High German smit ‘blacksmith’, probably denoting a blacksmith who was the son of a blacksmith.

German (Mäder) and Dutch: variant of Mader 2.

Probably a respelling of German Niederegger, from Nieder + Ecker, a topographic name for someone who lived at the ‘lower corner’. Dutch: altered form of Nieuwegger ‘new harrower’, with epenthetic -d-.

German: from a pet form of a Germanic personal name formed with the first element hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’.

Swiss German: nickname meaning ‘crier’, from Alemannic hauren ‘to cry’.

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.

Swiss German: probably an altered spelling of Wetsch.

Spanish (González): patronymic from the personal name Gonzalo, a personal name of Visigothic origin, based on the Germanic element gunþ ‘battle’. Compare Portuguese Gonçalves (see Goncalves).

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).

Swiss German: variant of Oberst.

English, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian (Róbert), etc: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hrod ‘renown’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. This is found occasionally in England before the Conquest, but in the main it was introduced into England by the Normans and quickly became popular among all classes of society. The surname is also occasionally borne by Jews, as an Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.

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.

French, Occitan, Catalan, and English: from the medieval personal name Morel, a diminutive vernacular form of Latin Maurus (see Moore 3), with the hypocoristic suffix -el. Compare Morrell. German: from the personal name and saint’s name Maurelius.

North German form of Hauser, from an agent derivative of Middle Low German hus ‘house’, or a nickname from the same word in the sense ‘provider of shelter’, ‘protector’. Germanized form of Slavic Husar.

German: variant of Pasch.

Possibly an altered form of German Tubach, which may be from Swiss Tübach, a habitational name from a place so named near Rorschach.

German: topographic name from Middle High German nuz ‘nut’ + boum ‘tree’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Nussbaum ‘nut tree’.

German: variant of Nieder, from the inflected (masculine) form.

German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived in an area thickly grown with reeds, from Middle High German ror (a collective singular) or near a well or channel ror, or a habitational name from one of the several places named with this word. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental from German Rohr ‘reed’ (see 1 above).

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).

Spanish (Martínez): patronymic from the personal name Martin.

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.

Swiss and German: from the medieval personal name Richmut, from Middle High German rich ‘noble’, ‘powerful’ + muot ‘mind’, ‘sense’.

German: occupational name for a bag maker, from an agent derivative of Middle High German biutel ‘bag’, ‘purse’ (see Beutel).

French (Alsatian) form of German Wiedmeyer or a variant of Wittmer 1.

German: occupational name for a joiner or cabinet maker, Middle High German kisteler. Compare Kistner.

German: nickname for a fickle or indecisive person, from Middle High German zwivel ‘equivocation’.

Variant of German Zahndt (see Zahn).

Frisian: from the Germanic personal name Hero, a short form of compound names with the first element hari, heri ‘army’, as, for instance, Hermann. North German and Dutch: equivalent of Herr.

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.

Indian (Panjab): Hindu (Hazari) and Sikh name of unknown meaning. South German and Swiss German (also Jäggi): from a pet form of Jacob. Compare Jaeckel.

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.

Swiss German: variant of Furrer.

South German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived by on a high-lying street, from Middle High German hohe ‘high’ + straze ‘street’, ‘road’ + the agent suffix -er.

German (also Höhl): topographic name for someone who lived in or by a depression or low-lying spot, from Middle High German hol ‘hollow’, ‘cave’.

English: variant of Maw 2. South German: nickname for a sulky or surly person, from Middle High German muff, mupf ‘pout’, ‘drooping mouth’.

German: topographic name for someone living by a main highway, from Middle High German wëc, weg ‘way’, ‘street’ + man ‘man’.

Dutch and German: variant of Meile.

German: from a Germanic personal name, Hugizo or Huz o, pet forms of a compound name formed with hug- as the first element (see, for example, Hubert, Hugh). South German: possibly a nickname from Middle High German hotzen ‘to run swiftly’.

German: from the Germanic personal name Gisilo (see Giesel).

South German: from the Germanic personal name Leonhard (see Leonard 1).

German and Swiss German: from the Germanic personal name Egilolf, composed of the elements agi(l) ‘edge’, ‘point’ (of a sword) + wolf ‘wolf’, cognate with Old English Ecgwulf. This was the name of several Lombard kings (ancestors of the Bavarian ducal line of the Agilolfinger), who introduced the name to Italy.

German: variant of Schneider.

English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh: variant spelling of Moore.

Italian: from the personal name Russo, southern variant ofnRosso, a nickname for someone with red hair, a red beard, or anruddy complexion. EC, kh

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

Swiss and German: from an agent derivative of Teilen ‘division’, ‘dividing’, an occupational name for someone responsible for supervising the cutting up of cloth in a merchant’s chambers, an activity known as the Teilen.

South German: from Middle High German helbling ‘halfpenny’, applied as a nickname for a weak man, or for someone who paid this amount in rent or taxes, or for a stingy person.

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.

occupational name from Old French mon(n)ier ‘minter’, ‘money-changer’. from a dialect variant of Meunier.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): see Gass.

English (Lancashire): variant spelling of Mayer 1. Spanish and Jewish (Sephardic): nickname for an older man or a distinguishing epithet for the elder of two bearers of the same personal name, from Spanish mayor ‘older’ (Latin maior (natus), literally ‘greater (by birth)’). Spanish and Jewish (Sephardic): occupational or status name, from major ‘governor’, ‘chief’. Catalan: variant spelling of Major. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Meyer 2.

German: variant of Kappler.

German: occupational name for a hunter, Middle High German weidman, from Middle High German weide ‘hunting ground’ + man ‘man’.

Spanish (Pérez) and Jewish (Sephardic): patronymic from the personal name Pedro, Spanish equivalent of Peter. Jewish: variant of Peretz.

German (also Hölzer) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant spelling of Holtzer.

Swiss German (Gurtner) and South German (Gürtner): variant of Gürtler (see Gurtler). German: habitational name for someone from Gurten in Bavaria.

South German: altered spelling of Stempfli, a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked at a crushing mill, from a diminutive of Middle High German stampf ‘pestle’, ‘crusher’, ‘crushing mill’. In some instances it may have been applied as a nickname for a small, fat person.

Swiss German: from the short form of a Germanic personal name composed of the elements liut ‘people’, ‘tribe’ + berht ‘famous’. topographic name for someone who lived at a Lauben, a row of houses and stores with an arcade in front, from Middle High German loube ‘arbor’, ‘bower’, ‘gallery’.

German: variant spelling of Eberhardt.

German: nickname for someone with stiff, bristly hair, from Middle Low German struf, Middle High German strup ‘unkempt’, ‘rough’. Compare Struve.

Southern French: nickname for a twin, from Occitan besson ‘twin’, a derivative of Latin bis ‘twice’.

English: variant of Wald, with the addition of the habitational suffix -er. German: habitational name from any of several places called Wald, or a topographic name for someone who lived in a forest or wood, Middle High German walt.

English: topographic name for someone living by an alder tree (Middle English al(d)re), or by a group of alders (the surname is often found in the plural form in Middle English). English: from a Middle English personal name, representing a falling together of two Old English names, Ealdhere ‘ancient army’ and Æ{dh}elhere ‘noble army’. German: variant of Alter. Translation of Swedish Ahl. Translation of Finnish Leppanen.

Swiss and South German: derogatory nickname meaning ‘goose leg’, presumably from Romansh ganta ‘wild goose’ + Middle High German bein ‘bone’, ‘leg’.

English and French: from a Germanic personal name, Emaurri, composed of the elements amja ‘busy’, ‘industrious’ + ric ‘power’. The name was introduced into England from France by the Normans. There has been some confusion with Amory.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a meadow or pastureland, from Middle High German halte ‘pasture’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant. South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German haltære ‘keeper’, ‘shepherd’, German Halter. English: occupational name for a maker of halters for horses and cattle, Middle English haltrere (from Old English hælftre ‘halter’). Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a halter-maker, from Middle Dutch halfter, haelter, halter ‘halter’.

German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Rohrbach (‘reed brook’ or ‘channel brook’) in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

German: from a reduced form of the personal name Rudolf.

French: from a diminutive of Bourg.

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).

English: nickname from Middle English gode ‘good’ (Old English god). English: from a medieval personal name, a survival of the Old English personal name Goda, which was in part a byname and in part a short form of various compound names with the first element god. Americanized form of like-sounding names in other languages, for example German Gut or Guth.

German (also Öchsner): occupational name for someone who looked after or worked with oxen, from an agent derivative of Middle High German ohse ‘ox’.

topographic name for someone who lived on a slope or river bank, or on the coast (ultimately from Latin costa ‘rib’, ‘side’, ‘flank’, also used in a transferred topographical sense), or a habitational name from any of numerous places named Costa or named with this word. of Greek origin (see Costas).

French and English (of Norman origin): from the Old French personal name Aubert, a variant of Albert. German (Swabian): variant of Albert.

German: habitational name for someone from Burgheim near Breisach. The form of the surname reflects the local pronunciation of the place name.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): regional name for someone in Eastern Europe originating from Italy, from Polish wloch, meaning ‘Italian’ (originally ‘foreigner’). See Vlach. German and Swedish: variant of Block. Danish: from blok ‘block (of wood)’, hence a nickname for a large lumpish person, or from German Block.

German and Swiss German: from the inflected form of a house name ‘at the lily’, based on Middle High German lilge, gilge ‘lily’, or a habitational name for someone from a place called St. Ägidi (earlier, Aegilius), near Passau, for instance.

South German and Swiss German: from a pet form of Thomas.

Swiss German: from a short form of any of the personal namesnformed with the Germanic element hrod ‘renown’, for examplenRudolf. EG Swedish: variant of Ruden. LP Jewish (from Belarus): habitational name from a place in Belarusnnamed Rudnya. ab

German: variant of Hagemann.

Swiss and German (Ösch): variant of Esch.

Swiss German and South German: habitational name from a place named with gugge ‘cuckoo’ or ‘toad’ + berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’. According to some, gug may be an old word meaning ‘swamp’ and South German guggi ‘toad’ a derivative of it.

Portuguese: patronymic from the Germanic personal name Rodrigo. The surname is also common in the cities of the west coast of India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists. Variant spelling of Spanish Rodriguez.

English and German: from the Breton personal name Iodoc (Latinized as Jodocus) (see Joyce).

Swiss German: from Habo, a short form of several Germanic names formed with hadu ‘strife’ as the first element, see Haab.

German: from a short form of Rupprecht. EG

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).

Swiss German: variant of Traxler.

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

German (eastern) and Swiss German: variant of Rensch.

Dutch or German: variant spelling of Keyser or Kaiser.

French: variant of Gérard (see Gerard).

French and English (East Anglia): variant of Grant. German: topographic name for someone who lived in a gravelly area, from Middle Low German grand ‘coarse gravel’. German: nickname from a southern word of uncertain origin meaning ‘frustration’, ‘anger’, ‘ire’. Danish: nickname from grand ‘pure’.

Portuguese: patronymic from the personal name Fernando. This is one of the most common surnames in Portugal. This surname is also common in Goa and elsewhere on the west coast of India, having been taken there by Portuguese colonists.

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

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.

German: topographic name for someone who lived by a field named as being a pasture reserved for foals, from Middle High German vole ‘foal’ (plural volen) + weide ‘meadow’, ‘pasture’.

French and Swiss French: unexplained. Probably a variant of Irish Gooley.

South German: habitational name from any of various places in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Lower Austria, and elsewhere called Gschwand, Gschwend(t), or Geschwend (meaning ‘cleared land’).

German: variant of Burkhart.

Americanized spelling of German Biehler (see Buehler). Possibly a habitational name for someone from places called Bielen, Bielau, or Biehla, all in eastern Germany, or from Biel in Switzerland. Compare Bieler 3.

German: topographic name for someone who lived ‘at the rock’ or ‘at the castle’, from Middle High German stein ‘rock’, also used to refer to a stone-built castle.