Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AlmendingerUpper German, German (Swiss) Habitational name for someone from a place called Allmendingen, of which there are two examples in Switzerland, in the canton of Bern, and one in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
AmmannUpper German, German (Swiss) Alemannic form of Amtmann "official". Ultimately derived from Middle High German ambet man "retinue man; retainer", this word came to denote various kinds of administrator including a tax farmer.
BatzUpper German Derived from Alemannic Swabian Batz "pile; large quantity", possibly applied as a nickname either for a man of large physical proportions or for a man of wealth. The term also denoted a coin and may have been used metonymically for a coiner... [more]
BauknechtGerman, Upper German Occupational name for a farm worker from Middle High German buknecht "plowboy, farmhand" derived from the elements bu "farm" and kneht "servant, apprentice".
GalishoffUpper German, German (Austrian) Derived from the ancient Roman name Gallus, meaning "rooster" in Latin. Hoff meaning house combines the growing or tending to poultry on a farm house, hence the name Galishoff which has been modified over the millennia... [more]
GreinerUpper German, German (Swiss) Nickname for a quarrelsome or cantankerous person, derived from Middle High German grīner meaning "squabbler, quarreler" (ultimately an agent derivative of grīn meaning "loud, cry, screaming, shouting")... [more]
GrieserUpper German topographic name for someone living on a sandy site, from Middle High German griez ‘sand’ + -er suffix denoting an inhabitant.
HelderDutch, German, Upper German, English 1. Dutch and German: from a Germanic personal name Halidher, composed of the elements haliò “hero” + hari, heri “army”, or from another personal name, Hildher, composed of the elements hild “strife”, “battle” + the same second element... [more]
HoltzmannUpper German, German Derived from the Upper German word "holz," which means "forest." Thus many of the names that evolved from this root work have to do with living in the woods
KleisUpper German, Romansh Derived from the given name Kleis, a South German variant of Klaus. The Kleis settled in Romansh-speaking areas after the Napoleonic Wars.
LöschLow German, Upper German North German metonymic occupational name for a maker of fine leather, from Middle Low German losche ‘fine leather’. South German variant of Lesch (see Loesch).
NiedUpper German South German: habitational name from Nied in Hesse.
ReiserGerman, Upper German Habitational name for someone from Reis or Reissen in Bavaria (see Reis). An occupational name from Middle High German reisære ‘warrior’, ‘traveler’... [more]
ReisserUpper German An occupational name for a woodcutter, Middle High German risser.
ReusserSwiss, German, Upper German In Switzerland, an occupational name for a fisherman or maker of fish traps, from an agent derivative of Middle High German riuse ‘fish trap’, ‘weir basket’. A nickname from an agent noun based on Middle High German riusen ‘to moan or complain’... [more]
RollUpper German, German, English German: from Middle High German rolle, rulle ‘roll’, ‘list’, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a scribe.... [more]
RommelUpper German, Dutch Nickname for an obstreperous person, from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch rummeln, rumpeln to make a noise, create a disturbance (of imitative origin). Variant of Rummel.
SchallerUpper German From Middle High German word "schal," which means "noise," or "bragging," and as such is was thought to have originally been a nickname for a braggart, or for a market crier.
SchinkUpper German, Dutch Nickname for someone with long or otherwise remarkable legs, from Middle High German schinke ‘thigh’, ‘leg’. Compare Schenkel. ... [more]
SchlatterUpper 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.
StrohmUpper German From the noble name Strohmeier. Great river and electricity.
ThirringUpper German (Rare) The name Thirring has many different forms/variant spellings. These include Thiering, Thiring, Thuring,Thuringer, Turinger, Duringer, Diringer, Diring and During. One of the reasons for all the variant spellings is that the church scribes in Hungary originally all recorded the name differently... [more]
ZennerUpper German South German: unflattering nickname for a surly, snarling person, from an agent derivative of Middle High German zannen 'to growl or howl' or 'to bare one's teeth'.