Jung 1 GermanMeans
"young" in German, from Middle High German
junc.
Kaiser GermanFrom Middle High German
keiser meaning
"emperor", originally a nickname applied to someone who acted kingly. The title ultimately derives from the Roman name
Caesar.
Kalmár HungarianOccupational name meaning
"merchant, shopkeeper" in Hungarian, of German origin.
Kästner GermanMeans
"cabinet maker", derived from Middle High German
kaste "box".
Kiefer 2 GermanOccupational name for a barrel maker, derived from Old High German
kuofa meaning
"barrel".
Kistler GermanOccupational name meaning
"chest maker, cabinetmaker" from Middle High German
kiste.
Klein German, Dutch, JewishMeans
"small, little" from German
klein or Yiddish
kleyn. A famous bearer of this name is clothes designer Calvin Klein (1942-).
Knopf GermanMeans
"button" in German, originally belonging to a button maker or button seller.
Kohl GermanDerived from Middle High German
kol "cabbage".
Kohler GermanFrom Middle High German
koler meaning
"charcoal burner" or
"charcoal seller".
Krämer GermanMeans
"shopkeeper, merchant" in German, derived from Old High German
kram meaning "tent, trading post".
Kranz German, JewishDerived from Old High German
kranz meaning
"wreath", an occupational name for a maker of wreaths or an ornamental Jewish name.
Król PolishMeans
"king" in Polish. The name referred to one who acted like a king or was connected in some way with a king's household.
Kron German, SwedishFrom German
Krone and Swedish
krona meaning
"crown" (from Latin
corona), perhaps a nickname for one who worked in a royal household.
Krüger 2 GermanIn southern Germany an occupational name for a potter, derived from Middle High German
kruoc meaning
"jug, pot".
Leblanc FrenchMeans
"the white" in French, from
blanc "white". The name referred to a person who was pale or whose hair was blond.
Leitzke GermanEither from
Leitzkau, the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt, or from a diminutive of the given name
Leutz, a variant of
Lutz.
Lewis 1 EnglishDerived from the given name
Lewis. The author C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a bearer of this surname.
Luther GermanFrom the old given name
Leuthar. It was notably borne by the religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546).
Madison EnglishMeans
"son of Maud". A famous bearer of this surname was the fourth American president James Madison (1751-1836).
Major EnglishFrom the Norman French given name
Mauger, derived from the Germanic name
Malger.
Mandel German, YiddishMeans
"almond" in German, an occupational name for a grower or seller, or a topographic name for a person who lived near an almond tree. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Manfredonia ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Manfredonia, Italy. The city was named for the 13th-century King
Manfred of Sicily.
Mann German, EnglishFrom a nickname meaning
"man". This may have originally been given in order to distinguish the bearer from a younger person with the same name.
Marquardt GermanFrom Old High German
marka "border, boundary" and
wart "protector". This was an occupational name for a border guard.
Maurer GermanOccupational name meaning
"wall builder" in German.
Maus GermanFrom a nickname meaning
"mouse", from Old High German
mus.
McElligott IrishAnglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name
Mac Uileagóid meaning
"son of Uileagóid", a diminutive of
Uilleag.
Melsbach GermanFrom the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".
Mendel 2 GermanDerived from a diminutive of the given name
Meino. A famous bearer was Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a Czech monk and scientist who did experiments in genetics.
Messer GermanOccupational name for a person who made knives, from Middle High German
messer "knife".
Metz 1 GermanOccupational name for maker of knives, from Middle High German
metze "knife".
Monet FrenchDerived from either of the given names
Hamon or
Edmond. A famous bearer was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Montgomery English, ScottishFrom a place name in Calvados, France meaning "
Gumarich's mountain". A notable bearer was Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976), a British army commander during World War II.
Müller GermanGerman equivalent of
Miller, derived from Middle High German
mülnære or
müller.
Musil m CzechPossibly from a nickname meaning
"the one who had to", from the past participle of the Czech verb
muset meaning "must" (of Germanic origin).
Nagel German, DutchMeans
"nail" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a carpenter or nailsmith.
Ohme GermanFrom Middle High German
oem meaning
"maternal uncle".
Pfeiffer GermanOccupational name meaning
"pipe player" in German, from Middle High German
pfifen "to whistle".
Pfenning GermanFrom Old High German
pfenning meaning
"penny, coin". It was used in reference to feudal tax obligations.
Raine 2 English, FrenchDerived from a Germanic name that was short for longer names beginning with the element
ragin meaning "advice, counsel".
Rapp 2 GermanFrom Middle High German
raben meaning
"raven", a nickname for a person with black hair.
Raskopf GermanPossibly from German
rasch "quick" and
Kopf "head".
Regenbogen German, JewishFrom a German nickname meaning
"rainbow", probably a habitational name for someone who lived in a house with the sign of a rainbow. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Reich German, JewishNickname for a wealthy or powerful person, from Old High German
rihhi "rich, powerful".
Reiher GermanMeans
"heron" in German, a nickname for a person with long legs.
Reis German, JewishFrom Middle High German
ris meaning
"twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
Ritter GermanFrom Middle High German
riter meaning
"rider, knight", a cognate of
Ryder.
Roth German, JewishFrom Middle High German
rot meaning
"red". It was originally a nickname for a person with red hair.
Rothenberg German, JewishFrom Middle High German
rot meaning "red" and
berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish name it may be ornamental.
Rothschild JewishFrom Middle High German
rot "red" and
schilt "shield", or Yiddish
רויט (roit) and
שילד (shild). The famous Rothschild family of bankers took their name from a house with a red shield on it.
Royce EnglishOriginally derived from the medieval given name
Royse, a variant of
Rose.
Royston EnglishOriginally taken from an Old English place name meaning "Royse's town". The given name
Royse was a medieval variant of
Rose.
Ruzzier ItalianFrom a dialectal variant of
Ruggiero. It is typical of northeastern Italy, the area around Trieste.
Sachs GermanOriginally indicated a person from Saxony (German
Sachsen). The region was named for the Germanic tribe of the Saxons, ultimately derived from the Germanic word *
sahsą meaning "knife".
Sandberg Swedish, Norwegian, JewishFrom Swedish and Norwegian
sand (Old Norse
sandr) meaning "sand" and
berg meaning "mountain" (or in the case of the Jewish surname, from the Yiddish or German cognates).
Scheinberg JewishOrnamental name meaning
"beautiful mountain" from German
schön "beautiful, good, nice" and
berg "mountain".
Schenk German, DutchFrom Middle High German, Middle Dutch
schenke meaning
"wine server" (from Old High German
scenken "to pour out").
Scherer GermanOccupational name for a cutter of cloth or a sheep-shearer, from Old High German
skeran "to cut".
Schirmer GermanMeans
"fencer, fencing master", from Old High German
skirmen meaning "to defend".
Schlosser GermanOccupational name for a locksmith, derived from Old High German
sloz meaning "lock".
Schmidt GermanOccupational name derived from Middle High German
smit "smith, metalworker", a cognate of
Smith.
Schnur German, JewishFrom Old High German
snuor meaning
"rope, cord", an occupational name for a maker of rope.
Schreier German, JewishOccupational name for a town crier, from Old High German
scrian meaning "to shout, to yell".
Schuchardt GermanFrom Middle High German
schuochwürte meaning
"shoemaker, cobbler".
Schuhmacher GermanFrom the Middle High German occupational name
schuochmacher meaning
"shoemaker".