ClossGerman Variant of Kloss and, in North America, also an altered form of this. It is also found in Lorraine, France.
CockerEnglish, German (Anglicized) Originally a nickname for a bellicose person, from Middle English cock "to fight". Also an anglicized form of Köcher.
CouncilEnglish, German 1 English: nickname for a wise or thoughtful man, from Anglo-Norman French counseil ‘consultation’, ‘deliberation’, also ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ (Latin consilium, from consulere ‘to consult’)... [more]
CressGerman, Jewish, Belarusian A variant of the German surname Kress. From the Middle High German "kresse" meaning "gudgeon" (a type of fish) or the Old High German "krassig", meaning "greedy". Can also be from an altered form of the names Erasmus or Christian, or the Latin spelling of the Cyrillic "КРЕСС".
CrislerGerman (Americanized) Americanized form of German Kreisler or Griessler or, in the south, an occupational name for a grocer from Middle High German griezmel meaning “milled grain.”
CrownoverGerman (Anglicized) Americanised spelling of German Kronauer, denoting someone from Kronau, a town near Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It could also be an Americanised form of Kronhöfer (a variant of Grünhofer), a habitational name for someone from a lost place called Grünhof, derived from Middle High German gruene meaning "green" or kranech meaning "crane" and hof meaning "farmstead".
CrudupGerman (Anglicized) Probably an Americanised form of North German Gratop, a nickname for an old man, derived from Middle Low German gra meaning "gray" and top meaning "braid". Famous bearers of this name include the Americans Billy Crudup (1968-), an actor, and Arthur Crudup (1905-1974), a Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist.
CrumbleGerman Probably an altered form of German Krumpel or Krümpel a nickname from Middle High German krum(p) 'deformed crooked'; skeletal deformities were common in the Middle Ages often as a result of childhood illnesses such as rickets.
CrytesGerman (Americanized), Dutch It may be an Americanized or altered spelling of a German surname, such as Kreutz, Kreitz, or Kritz, all of which are based on the root kreuz meaning "cross" in German... [more]
CusterGerman (Anglicized) Anglicization of the German surname Köster or Küster, literally "sexton". A famous bearer was George Custer (1839-1876), the American cavalry general. General Custer and his army were defeated and killed by Sioux and Cheyenne forces under Sitting Bull in the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876; also known colloquially as Custer's Last Stand).
DahlerGerman From a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name, possibly a cognate with Anglo-Saxon deal, the first part of which means “proud” or “famous.”
DahlkeGerman Eastern German: from a pet form of the Slavic personal names Dalibor or Dalimir, which are both derived from dal- ‘present’, ‘gift’.
DahmerGerman, Danish A northern German or Danish habitual name for someone from one of the many places named Dahme in Brandenburg, Holstein, Mecklenburg, or Silesia. A famous bearer of this name was Jeffrey Dahmer, serial killer (1960 - 1993).
DaiberGerman Derived from either Middle High German tiuber "pigeon breeder, pigeon fancier" or from Middle High German touber "wind musician, musician who plays a wind instrument".
DaleidenGerman Habitational name from a place in the Rhineland called Daleiden.
DammGerman From a short form of a personal name containing the Old High German element thank "thanks", "reward".
DammGerman, Danish Topographic name from Middle High German damm "dike".
DangersGerman Patronymic from the personal name Anger. Habitational name for someone from the city of Angers.
DankworthGerman (Anglicized) Formed from the German forename Tancred, which mutated to a hard D in English, combined with Old English Worth "a farmstead."
DanzGerman Derived from a given name, a short form of the name Tandulf, the origins of which are uncertain. (In some cases, however, this surname may have originated as a nickname denoting a person who liked to dance, from the Middle High German word tanz, danz "dance".)
DänzerGerman Occupational name for a professional acrobat or entertainer; variant of Tanzer.
DanzigGerman Denoted a person who was from the city of Gdańsk, Poland (called Danzig in German).
DeetzGerman (Americanized), German Either an Americanized form of German Dietz or a North German surname which is ultimately derived from the same source (from an old personal name formed with Old High German diota "people, nation")... [more]
DegenGerman, Swiss Means "rapier, small sword, dagger" in German, an occupational name for someone who made rapiers. Alternately, it could be derived from a given name containing Old High German degan "soldier, warrior", such as Degenhard or Herdegen.
DeppGerman Derived from Germanic depp which is a nickname for a joker (person who plays jokes on others). A notable bearer is Johnny Depp, an American actor.
DesslerGerman, Yiddish Meaning Unknown. Known primarily in pop culture as the surname of a certain Michelle in the Fox tv hit 24 and of a certain villain called Albert in Space Battleship Yamato.
DielmannGerman (Modern) It was once spelled as "Dielhmann" and sometimes with one "n". The meaning is unknown, but when I used Google's translator "dielh" means "the" and "mann" was "man".
DiemGerman German: from a reduced form of the personal name Dietmar ( see Dittmar ).
DieringerGerman (Americanized) Americanized form of German Thüringer, regional name for someone from Thuringia, This was also used as a medieval personal name. Americanized form of German Tieringer, habitational name for someone from Tieringen in Württemberg.
DillingerGerman Denoted a person from Dillingen, a district in the region of Swabia in Bavaria, Germany. This name was borne by the infamous John Dillinger (1903-1934), an American gangster and bank robber during the Great Depression.
DimerGerman (Portuguese-style) Brazilian adaptation of the German surname Diemer; altered for easier comprehension by the Portuguese-speaking population of Brazil.
DimondsteinGerman This is a German name which translates into English as diamond stone. It most likely belongs to a miner who mined diamonds or perhaps a jeweler.
DinjerGerman (Rare) Occupational surname that originated in the German dialect spoken in the Rhineland-Palatinate region. ... [more]
DinklageGerman Occupational name for a grain farmer or grain merchant, derived from an agent derivative of Middle High German dinkel meaning "spelt" (a variety of wheat). It could also be derived from Dinkelsbühl, a historic town in the state of Bavaria (formerly in central Franconia), or Dinklage, a town in the Vechta district, in Lower Saxony, Germany... [more]
DischingerGerman Habitational name for someone from Dischingen near Neresheim or Oberdischingen near Ehingen in Württemberg.
DishmanGerman (Americanized) Americanized form of North German Dischmann or Tischmann: occupational name for a joiner from Middle Low German disch 'table' + man 'man'.
DistelGerman, Low German, Dutch Means "thistle" in German and Dutch, a topographic name for someone who lived by a patch of ground overgrown with thistles, or perhaps a nickname for a "prickly" person.
DistlerGerman Topographic name for someone who lived in a place where thistles grew, from German Distel "thistle" (see Distel) and -er, suffix denoting an inhabitant.
DobbersteinGerman Metonymic occupational name for a dice maker or a nickname for a dice player, from Middle High German topel ‘die’ + stein ‘stone’, ‘cube’.
DornGerman, Jewish, Flemish Means "thorn" in German. Given as a habitational name to someone who lived near thorn bushes, or as an ornamental name.
DornfeldGerman topographic name for someone who lived by a field where thorn bushes grew from Middle High German Middle Low German dorn "thorn" and feld "open country".
DorstGerman, Dutch Either a topographic name for someone who lived on dry hard ground from dörr "dry" or a habitational name from any of the places called Dorst near Cologne or Helmstedt or Dorste in the Harz Mountains... [more]
DoschGerman Topographic name for someone living near bushes or brush, from Middle High German doste, toste ‘leafy branch’, or a habitational name from a house with a sign depicting a bush. Also an altered spelling of Dasch.
DosterGerman, Belgian A German surname, which is from an agent derivative of the Middle High German words 'doste' and 'toste' (meaning ‘wild thyme’, ‘shrub’, ‘bouquet’). It is a topographic surname which was given to someone whose land abutted an uncultivated piece of land, or possibly an occupational name for someone who dealt herbs.... [more]
DötterGerman From a Germanic personal name formed with theud ‘people’, ‘race’ + hard ‘hardy’, ‘strong’ or hari, heri ‘army’
DoveGerman, Dutch From a nickname for a deaf person, derived from Middle Low German dof or Middle Dutch doof, both meaning "deaf".
DrangmeisterGerman Occupational name for a healer or someone who made medicinal drinks, from Middle Low German drank "beverage, potion" and meistar "master" (from Latin magister).
DraxlerGerman Derived from the Middle High German "Drehseler," meaning "turner," and was most likely initially borne by a turner or lathe worker.
DreilingGerman From Middle High German drīling, meaning “third (part),” possibly denoting a service or tax obligation and hence a status name or a triplet.
DreilingGerman Habitational name from Drelingen near Uelzen, Lower Saxony.
DrescherYiddish, German German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a thresher, German Drescher, Yiddish dresher, agent derivatives of Middle High German dreschen, Yiddish dresh(e)n 'to thresh'.... [more]
DrexelGerman, Jewish It originates from the pre 7th century word 'dreseler' meaning 'to turn', a verb which in medieval times had a wide range of meanings.
DreyfussGerman, Jewish Means "three feet" in German. This surname originates from the German city of Trier. The Latin name for the city was "Treveris," whose pronunciation eventually developed into Dreyfuss. The spelling variants tend to correspond to the country the family was living in at the time the spelling was standardized: the use of one "s" tends to be more common among people of French origin, while the use of two tends to be found among those of German descent
DrollingerGerman Ethnic or habitational name for someone from Tyrol.
DrostDutch, German, Danish Means "reeve, steward; sheriff, bailiff" in German and Dutch, a title for the administrative head of a court or district.
DruckerGerman, Dutch, Jewish Occupational name for an operator of a printing press, derived from German drucken "to print".
DruckmannGerman, Jewish Variant of Drucker. A famous bearer of the name is the Israeli-American writer Neil Druckmann (1978-).
DruxGerman Variant of Trux, which itself is a contracted form of Truxes and derived from the German word Truchsess, ultimately from Middle High German truhsaeze and Old High German truhtsazzo (from truht "band; cohort; regiment" and saza "seat; chair").... [more]
DuerreGerman Topographic name for a person who lived on a dry, barren land, derived from Old German durri and German dürre meaning "barren, infertile". It could also be a variant of Dürr.
DürenGerman Habitational name from any of numerous places called Düren in northern Germany, in particular the one near Cologne.
DürerGerman, History In the case of the German painter Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), this was a variant of the German surname Türer, a German translation of Hungarian Ajtósi, meaning "doormaker", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect... [more]
DurrenbergerGerman habitational name for someone from any of numerous places in Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony, and Silesia named Dür(r)nberg or Dürrenberg
DwengerGerman From an agent derivative of Middle Low German dwengen "to press or oppress" probably a nickname for a violent person.
DycianGerman (East Prussian), Hebrew The surname "Dycian" is quite rare, with limited information available regarding its origin or meaning. One suggestion proposes that it may derive from the German word "dicyan," meaning "cyanogen," a chemical compound... [more]
EarleyGerman, Irish The surname Earley originally derived from the Old English word Eorlic which referred to one who displayed manly characteristics.... [more]
EberlingGerman (Austrian) The surname Eberling was first found in Austria, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation... [more]
EdenGerman Refers to someone from one of several places of the same name, mainly in Bavaria and Austria, from Middle High German œde "wasteland" and the suffix n, which signifies an action toward the root word... [more]
EffenbergGerman Possibly denoted a person coming from a place of this name in Germany, or for someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill covered with elm trees, derived from German effe meaning "elm" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
EhlertGerman From a Germanic personal name composed of the elements agil "edge", "point (of a sword)" + hard "brave", "hardy", "strong" or ward "guard".
EhlingerGerman Habitational name for someone from Ehlingen in the Palatinate.
EichGerman German from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived near an oak tree. In some cases, it may be a habitational name for someone from any of several places named with this word, for example Eiche or Eichen, or for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of an oak.
EichackerGerman Topographic name meaning "oak field. from Middle High German eiche "oak" and acker "field".
EichelbergGerman Habitational name from any of various places, notably one southeast of Heidelberg, named from Middle High German eichel meaning "acorn" + berc meaning "mountain", "hill", or topographic name for someone who lived on an oak-covered hill.
EichelbergerGerman Habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Eichelberg.
EichenbergGerman Derived from Middle High German eih "oak" and berg "mountain hill" meaning "oak hill, oak mountain"; a topographic name for someone who lived on an oak-covered hillside or a habitational name from any of the places so named... [more]