Browse Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the usage is German; and the source is Location.

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Achterberg Dutch, German
From the name of various places in the Netherlands and Germany, for example the village of achterberg in Utrecht. The place names are derived from Low German achter "behind" and berg "mountain, hill".

Acker German, English
Denoted a person who lived near a field, derived from Middle English aker or Middle High German acker meaning "field".

Ackermann German
Denoted a person who lived near a field, from Middle High German acker "field" and man "man".

Adenauer German
Denoted a person from the town of Adenau in Germany. The name of the town is of uncertain etymology.

Althaus German
Name for a person dwelled in or by an old house, from German alt "old" and haus "house".

Aue German
From German meaning "meadow by a river, wetland". There are many places with this name in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Auer German
From German Aue, Old High German ouwa, meaning "meadow by a river, wetland".

Bach 1 German
Topographic name for someone who lived by a stream, from Middle High German bach meaning "stream". This name was borne by members of the Bach musical family, notably the composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

Bachman German (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Bachmann.

Bachmann German
Denoted a person who lived near a stream, from Middle High German bach "stream" and man "man".

Baier German
Variant of Bayer.

Bambach German
Variant of Baumbach.

Baum German, Jewish
Means "tree" in German. A famous bearer was the American author L. Frank Baum (1856-1919).

Baumbach German
From a place name meaning "tree stream" in German.

Baumer German
Variant of Baum.

Baumgarten German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Baumgärtner German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Baumgartner German
Occupational name for a person who worked or lived at an orchard, from German Baumgarten "orchard" (derived from Baum "tree" and Garten "garden").

Bayer German
Originally denoted a person from Bavaria, from its German name Bayern.

Beck 1 English, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian
From Middle English bekke (from Old Norse), Low German beke or Old Norse bekkr all meaning "stream".

Becke German
Variant of Beck 1 or Beck 2.

Beckenbauer German
Means "farmer living by a stream" in German.

Berg German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German, Old Dutch and Old Norse berg meaning "mountain".

Berge Norwegian, German, Swedish
Variant of Berg.

Berger 2 German, Dutch
Variant of Berg.

Bergmann German
From Old High German berg meaning "mountain" and man meaning "man", originally denoting someone who lived on a mountain.

Best 2 German
Derived from the name of the river Beste, meaning unknown.

Beyer German
Variant of Bayer.

Beyersdorf German
Means "farmers village", from German Bauer meaning "farmer" and Dorf meaning "village".

Blumenthal German, Jewish
Derived from German Blumen "flowers" and Thal "valley".

Boehler German
Variant of Böhler.

Boesch German, Low German
Variant of Bösch 1 or Bösch 2.

Böhler German
Derived from the name of several German towns called Boll or Böhl, meaning "hill".

Böhm German
Originally indicated a person from the region of Bohemia (Böhmen in German).

Böhme German
Variant of Böhm.

Böhmer German, Jewish
Variant of Böhm.

Braband German
Derived from the name of the region of Brabant in the Netherlands and Belgium. It possibly means "ploughed region" or "marshy region" in Old High German.

Brand 2 German, Dutch
From Old High German brant or Old Dutch brand meaning "fire", originally a name for a person who lived near an area that had been cleared by fire.

Brandt German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch
Variant of Brand 1 or Brand 2.

Brant German, English
Variant of Brand 1 and Brand 2.

Breisacher German
Originally denoted one who came from the town of Breisach, in Germany. The town's name is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "breakwater".

Bretz German
Indicated a person from the town of Breetz in Brandenburg, Germany. The meaning of the town's name is unknown.

Brinkerhoff German
From a German place name meaning "farm near a slope".

Buchholz German
From Middle High German buoche "beech" and holz "wood".

Buckholtz German (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Buchholz.

Bumgarner German
Variant of Baumgartner.

Burgstaller German
From German Burg "fortress, castle" and Stelle "place, position". This was a name given to a person dwelling at or near such a site.

Busch German
Means "bush" in German, a name for someone who lived close to a thicket.

Diefenbach German
From a German place name meaning "deep creek".

Dresdner German
Originally indicated a person who came from the city of Dresden in German.

Ebner 1 German
Originally indicated a dweller on a flat piece of land, derived from Middle High German ebene "plateau".

Eckstein German
From Old High German ekka meaning "edge, corner" and stein meaning "stone".

Eichel German
Means "acorn" in German, indicating a person who lived near an oak tree.

Feigenbaum German, Jewish
Means "fig tree" in German.

Feld German, Jewish
Means "field" in German. The name was originally given to someone who lived on land cleared of forest.

Feldt German, Danish, Swedish
North German, Danish and Swedish variant of Feld.

Flater German
Means "reed bed" in German.

Foerstner German
Variant of Förstner.

Forney German
Name for someone who lived near ferns, from Old High German farn "fern".

Forst German
Derived from Old High German forst "forest". Probably unrelated to the Old French word forest, which was derived from Latin, Old High German forst was derived from foraha meaning "fir tree".

Förstner German
Denoted a keeper or one in charge of a forest (see Forst).

Frank 3 German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian
Name for a person from Franconia in Germany, so called because it was settled by the Frankish people. A notable bearer was the German-Jewish diarist Anne Frank (1929-1945), a victim of the Holocaust.

Franke German, Dutch
Variant of Frank 3.

Frankenstein German, Literature
From any of the various minor places by this name in Germany, meaning "stone of the Franks" in German. It was used by the author Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein (1818) for the character of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monster and brings it to life. The monster, nameless in the novel, is sometimes informally or erroneously called Frankenstein in modern speech.

Fries German
Denoted someone from Frisia, an area along the coastal region of the North Sea stretching from Netherlands to Germany.

Gass German
Name for someone who lived on a street in a city, from German gasse.

Glöckner German
Derived from Middle High German glocke "bell". It may have referred to a person who worked at or lived close to a bell tower.

Graner German
Originally denoted a person from Gran, the German name for Esztergom, a city in northern Hungary.

Greenberg German (Anglicized), Jewish
Anglicized form of Grünberg.

Gruber Upper German
From German Grube meaning "pit", indicating a person who lived or worked in a pit or depression. This is the most common surname in Austria.

Grünberg German, Jewish
From German grün meaning "green" and Berg meaning "mountain". This name indicated a person who lived on or near a forest-covered mountain.

Grünewald German
Means "green forest" from German grün "green" and Wald "forest".

Gutenberg German, Jewish
Variant of Guttenberg. A notable bearer was the inventor of the printing press Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), whose family hailed from an estate by this name.

Guttenberg German, Jewish
From the name of various places, derived from Middle High German guot meaning "good" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Hall English, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Means simply "hall", given to one who either lived in or worked in a hall (the house of a medieval noble).

Halle German
German variant of Hall.

Hasenkamp German
From a northern German place name meaning "rabbit field", from Old Saxon haso "hare" and kamp "field" (from Latin campus).

Haupt German
German cognate of Head.

Häusler German
Name for someone who lived in a house with no land, derived rom Old High German word hus meaning "house".

Heppenheimer German
From the name of the city of Heppenheim in Hesse, Germany.

Hiedler German
From southern German Hiedl meaning "underground stream".

Hitler German
Variant of Hiedler. This was spelling used by Alois Hitler, the father of German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), when he adopted his stepfather Johann Georg Hiedler's surname.

Hochberg German, Jewish
From place names meaning "high hill" in German.

Holland 2 Dutch, German, English
Indicated a person from the Dutch province of Holland 1.

Holtz German
German cognate of Holt.

Hölzer German
German cognate of Holt.

Holzer German
German cognate of Holt.

Holzmann German
Derived from Old High German holz "wood" and man "man", a name for someone who lived close to a wood or worked with wood.

Horn English, German, Norwegian, Danish
From the Old English, Old High German and Old Norse word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.

Ingersleben German
From the name of the town of Ingersleben, Germany, which meant "Inge's village".

Jöllenbeck German
From the name of a village in western Germany, itself derived from the name of the Jölle, a small river, combined with Low German beck "stream".

Kappel German, Dutch
Name for a person who lived near or worked at a chapel, ultimately from Late Latin cappella, a diminutive of cappa "cape", arising from the holy relic of the torn cape of Saint Martin, which was kept in small churches.

Kaube German
From the name of the town of Kaub in Germany.

Keil German
Means "wedge shaped" in German. It was used to denote a person who owned a wedge-shaped piece of land.

Kiefer 1 German
Means "pine tree" in German.

Kirch German
German cognate of Church.

Landau German, Jewish
Derived from the town of Landau in the Palatinate region of Germany, of Old High German origin meaning "land valley".

Langenberg German, Dutch
From various place names meaning "long mountain" in German and Dutch.

Lehr German
From Old High German loh meaning "meadow, clearing".

Leitner German
Referred to one who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German lite "slope".

Leitzke German
Either from Leitzkau, the name of a town in Saxony-Anhalt, or from a diminutive of the given name Leutz, a variant of Lutz.

Linden German, Dutch
Indicated a person who lived near a linden tree, derived from Old High German linta or Old Dutch linda.

Lindner German
Variant of Linden.

Mandel German, Yiddish
Means "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.

Meisner German
Variant of Meissner.

Meissner German
Originally denoted a person from the German town of Meissen, which is probably of Slavic origin.

Melsbach German
From the name of a German town, possibly meaning "mill stream".

Moser German
Name for someone who lived near a peat bog, from Middle High German mos.

Muhlfeld German
Means "mill field" in German.

Nuremberg German
Derived from the name of a city in Bavaria, Germany.

Nussbaum German, Jewish
Means "nut tree", derived from the German Nuss "nut" and Baum "tree".

Oberst German
From Old High German obar meaning "above, upper", indicating a person from the uppermost end of a village or the top of a house.

Oelberg German
Means "oil hill" from Middle High German öl "oil" and berg "mountain, hill".

Oppenheimer German
Originally indicated a person from Oppenheim, Germany, perhaps meaning "marshy home". A notable bearer was the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967).

Oursler German
Originally a name designating a person from Ursel (now Oberursel) in Hesse, Germany.

Pichler Upper German
From Bavarian Bühel meaning "hill".

Planck German
German variant of Plank.

Plank German, English
Means "plank", from Old French, itself from Late Latin planca. This could have referred to a person who lived by a plank bridge over a stream, someone who was thin, or a carpenter.

Pletcher German (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Pletscher.

Pletscher German
Possibly from the name of a field where cattle fodder was grown, from German Bletsch.

Polzin German
From the name of a town in Pomerania, Poland (formerly part of Germany). In Polish it is called Połczyn.

Post Dutch, German, English
Indicated a person who lived near a post, ultimately from Latin postis.

Regenbogen German, Jewish
From 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.

Reis German, Jewish
From Middle High German ris meaning "twig, branch, bush", denoting a person who lived in an overgrown area. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Reiter German
Variant of Reuter 1.

Reuter 1 German
Fom Middle High German riute meaning "cleared land".

Rose 1 English, French, German, Jewish
Means "rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German rose, all from Latin rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish רויז (roiz).

Rosenberg German, Swedish, Jewish
Means "rose mountain" in German and Swedish. As a Swedish and Jewish name it is ornamental.

Rosenberger German, Jewish
Variant of Rosenberg.

Rosenfeld German, Jewish
Means "field of roses" in German. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.

Rothenberg German, Jewish
From Middle High German rot meaning "red" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish name it may be ornamental.

Sachs German
Originally 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".

Saller 1 German
Originally denoted a person from the town of Sallern in Bavaria, possibly from a Celtic element meaning "stream".

Saller 2 German
Denoted a person who lived by a prominent sallow tree, from Middle High German salhe "sallow tree".

Salzwedel German
Originally denoted a person from Salzwedel, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "salt ford".

Schöttmer German
Originally indicated a person from Schötmar, Germany (now part of the city of Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia).

Schwangau German
From the name of a town in southern Germany, possibly related to German Schwan meaning "swan".

Schwarzenberg German
Means "black mountain" in German.

Schwarzenegger German
From a place name, derived from Old High German swarz meaning "black" and ekka meaning "edge, corner". A famous bearer of this name is actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947-).

Schweitzer German
Indicated a person from Switzerland (see Schweiz).

Spitz German
Means "sharp" in German, indicating the original bearer lived near a pointed hill.

Stein German, Jewish
From Old High German stein meaning "stone". It might indicate the original bearer lived near a prominent stone or worked as a stonecutter. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.

Steiner German
Variant of Stein.

Steinmann German
Means "stone man" in German, used as a habitational name for a person who lived near a prominent stone or an occupational name for a stone worker.

Steube German
Variant of Steuben.

Steuben German
Name for a dweller by a stump of a large tree, from Middle Low German stubbe "stub".

Strohkirch German
Means "straw church" in German.

Stück German, Jewish
From Old High German stucki meaning "piece, part".

Stueck German, Jewish
Variant of Stück.

Stumpf German
Nickname for a short person or a topographic name someone who lived near a prominent stump, from Middle High German stumpf.

Sulzbach German
Toponymic name from German places named Sulzbach meaning "salty stream", derived from Old High German sulza "salty water" and bah "stream".

Swango German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Schwangau.

Switzer German (Anglicized)
Americanized form of Schweitzer.

Tangeman German
Originally indicated a person from a place named Tange in northern Germany.

Tritten German
Originally denoted someone who lived by a set of steps, from Middle High German trit "step".

Unkle German
Possibly denoted a person from the town of Unkel in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Von Brandt German
Means "from the area cleared by fire", from Middle High German brant.

Von Essen German
Means "from Essen", a city in Germany, possibly a derivative of Old High German asc meaning "ash tree".

Von Grimmelshausen German
Means "from Grimmelshausen", a town in Germany. It is itself derived from Grimmel, of uncertain meaning, and hausen meaning "houses". A famous bearer was the German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621-1676).

Von Ingersleben German
Means "from Ingersleben", a town in Germany, which means "Inge's village".

Vonnegut German
Possibly from the German words von meaning "from, of, by" and gut meaning "good". A famous bearer was the American author Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007).

Walkenhorst German
Possibly derived from a German place name Falkenhorst, from Falken meaning "falcons" and Horst meaning "thicket".

Wang 3 German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From Old High German wang or Old Norse vangr meaning "grassy slope, meadow".

Waxweiler German
Denoted a person from Waxweiler, a village in the Eifel region of Germany.

West English, German
Denoted a person who lived to the west of something, or who came from the west.

Wieck German
Means "village, town", derived from Latin vicus.

Wild English, German
Means "wild, untamed, uncontrolled", derived from Old English wilde. This was either a nickname for a person who behaved in a wild manner or a topographic name for someone who lived on overgrown land.

Wilder English, German
Variant of Wild.

Wildgrube German
From the name of a German town, derived from German wild "wild, untamed" and Grube "hollow, pit".

Winkler German
Derived from Old High German winkil meaning "corner".

Xylander German
From Greek ξύλον (xylon) meaning "wood, timber" and ἀνδρός (andros) meaning "man". This surname was a Greek translation of German surnames of the same meaning.

Zellweger German (Swiss)
Originally denoted a person from the Appenzell region of Switzerland. The place name is derived from Latin abbatis cella meaning "estate of the abbot". A famous bearer is actress Renée Zellweger (1969-).

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