German Submitted Surnames
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ABEGGGerman, German (Swiss)Topographic name for someone who lived near the corner of a mountain, from German
ab meaning "off" and
Egg, dialect form of
Eck(e) meaning "promontory", "corner".
ABPLANALPGerman, German (Swiss)Topographic name for someone living high on a mountainside, from German
ab- "below", "off" +
Planalp "high, flat mountain-meadow".
ABSHERGermanAbsher comes from either the German surname
Habich, which comes from the surname
hawk. Literally meaning someone who had hawk-like features.
ACHGermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a spring or stream, from Old High German aha meaning "running water".
ACHENBACHGermanHabitational name from places in Hesse and Westphalia named Achenbach, from the obsolete word Ach or Ache (from Middle High German ahe meaning "water", "stream") + Bach meaning "brook".
AHLBORNGermanFrom the old personal name
Albern, from Germanic
adal meaning "noble" and
boran meaning "born".
ALDINGERGermanHabitational name for someone from Aldingen in Württemberg.
ALLEMANFrench (Cajun), Spanish (Canarian), GermanFrom the French and Spanish word for "German". Believed to have originated in the Alsace-Lorraine region. Some holders of the name migrated to the Canary Islands and are part of the larger Isleños population that settled throughout the Americas...
[more] ALLEMANNGerman (Swiss)Allemann (also spelled
Alleman,
Allemand,
Aléman,
Allamont,
Allemagne,
Alemaye,
Alemán, and
Allamán) is a surname that can be found primarily in Switzerland deriving from the Latin surname, Alemannus, which refers to someone of Germanic descent, specifically from the Alamanni tribe...
[more] ALLENDORFGermanHabitational name from any of ten or more places called Allendorf.
ALLGEIERGermanThe harried officials at Ellis Island began to assign surnames based upon the pronunciation of the name by the immigrant, rather than attempting to ferret out the actual spelling. ...
[more] ALMENDINGERGerman, German (Swiss)Habitational name for someone from a place called Allmendingen, of which there are two examples in Switzerland, in Bern canton, and one in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
ALPERTEnglish, Jewish, German, DutchA variant of the Jewish surname Heilprin or
Halpern. In German and Dutch usage, it is derived from the given name
Albert. One famous bearer is Richard Alpert from the ABC TV show LOST.
ALSCHEIDGermanProbably originally a locational surname and a place name for a village which no longer exists. Alscheid (Luxembourgish: Alschent) is a village in the commune of Kiischpelt, in northern Luxembourg. As of 2001, the village had a population of 47....
[more] ALTGerman, JewishGerman and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from alt ‘old’, typically applied as a distinguishing epithet to the older of two bearers of the same personal name.
ALTGerman, JewishFrom
alt "old", typically applied as a distinguishing epithet to the older of two bearers of the same personal name.
ALTHOFFGermanA surname predominantly found in Westphalia and the Rhineland region of Germany which is derived from German
alt "old" and
Hof (
Hoff in the local dialects) "farmstead; farm; manor".
ALTMEYERGermanStatus name for an older steward, headman, or tenant farmer, as distinguished from a younger one, from Middle High German alt ‘old’ + meier ‘steward’, ‘headman’, ‘tenant farmer’
ALTRINGERGermanHabitational name for someone from a place called Altringen or Aldingen, of which there are two in Württemberg.
ALWARDTGermanFrom the personal name
Adelward, composed of the Germanic elements
adal ‘noble’ +
ward ‘keeper’, ‘protector’.
AMBERGGerman, JewishGerman and possibly Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from any of several settlements called Amberg (literally ‘by the mountain’), including a city in Bavaria. It could also be a topographic name of identical etymology...
[more] AMESEnglish, GermanEnglish: from the Old French and Middle English personal name
Amys,
Amice, which is either directly from Latin
amicus ‘friend’, used as a personal name, or via a Late Latin derivative of this,
Amicius....
[more] AMMANNGermanA contraction of Ambetmann, for a court official. If there is a double "M", the origin might be Swiss.
AMMERGerman, English (Rare)This surname may be derived from Middle High German
amer which means "bunting (as in the bird)." As such, it is used as a nickname for someone with a fine voice or someone who is a flamboyant dresser....
[more] ANACKERGermanNickname for a day laborer, as opposed to someone who owned fields, from Middle High German āne meaning "without" + acker meaning "field".
ANSCHÜTZGermanOccupational name for someone whose job was to keep a dam or pool filled with water. (Anschützen "to fill up")
ARBEITERGermanOccupational name from Middle High German arbeiter ‘laborer’.
ARLINGHAUSGermanPerhaps a habitational name from Oerlinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia.
ASCHERGermanDerived from German
asche meaning "ash" (tanners worked with ash)
AUERBACHGerman, JewishTopographical name for someone who lived by a stream (Middle High German
bach) that was near a swamp or marsh (
auer).
AUSSENDORFGermanOriginated in Germany. Means "Out of the Village". First used in the year 1135.
BACKMANEnglish, Swedish, GermanCombination of Old English
bakke "spine, back" and
man "man". In Swedish, the first element is more likely to be derived from Swedish
backe "hill", and in German the first element can be derived from German
backen "to bake"...
[more] BAEDERGerman (Austrian)Means something like "bath house" which historically was associated with health or medicine.
BAERGermanDerived from Old High German
bero "bear".
BALSAMGermanOccupational name for a seller of spices and perfumes.
BALSANOGerman (Austrian), ItalianThe roots of the distinguished surname Balzano lie in Austria. The name derives itself from "Balthasar," the name of one of the three Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem, and was popular as both a first name and a family name during the 18th century....
[more] BARBEGermanFrom Middle High German
barbe, the name of a species of fish resembling the carp; hence by metonymy an occupational name for a fisherman or fish dealer, or possibly a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way.
BARTEKPolish, Czech, Slovak, GermanPolish, Czech, Slovak, and eastern German: from a pet form of a vernacular form of the personal name Bartolomaeus (Czech Bartoloměj, Polish Bartłomiej, German Bartolomäus)
BARWICKEnglish, GermanEnglish: habitational name from any of various places called Barwick, for example in Norfolk, Somerset, and West Yorkshire, from Old English
bere ‘barley’ +
wic ‘outlying farm’, i.e. a granary lying some distance away from the main village....
[more] BAUERDICKGermanA surname originating from the Rhineland region of Germany. It is derived from German
Bauer (
Bur in the locals dialects) "farmer" and
Deich (
Diek and
Dick in the local dialects) "levee" or
Teich "pond"...
[more] BAUMKÖTTERGerman (Modern)From the German words 'Baum' meaning 'tree' and 'Kötter' a type of villager who dwelt in a cottage, similar to the Scottish Cotter. "Presumably a 'Baumkötter' earned money from a small orchard on their property."
BAYEnglish, French, Dutch, Scottish, German, Danish, NorwegianEnglish, French, and Dutch: nickname for someone with chestnut or auburn hair, from Middle English, Old French
bay,
bai, Middle Dutch
bay ‘reddish brown’ (Latin
badius, used originally of horses)....
[more] BECHERGermanShortened form of
Becherer as well as a surname given to for someone who distilled or worked with pitch, in which case it is derived from Middle High German
bech / pech "pitch".
BECHMANNGerman (Rare)Surname denoting someone who worked with pitch, from Middle High German
bech / pech "pitch" and
man, a suffix which can mean "man" or simply be used as a name suffix.
BEEKMANGerman, Anglo-SaxonThis name derives from the pre 5th century Olde German and later Anglo-Saxon word "bah" or "baecc". This word describes a stream, or as a name specifically someone who lived or worked by a stream.
BEEREnglish, German, Dutch, German (Swiss)Habitational name from any of the forty or so places in southwestern England called Beer(e) or Bear(e). Most of these derive their names from the West Saxon dative case, beara, of Old English bearu ‘grove’, ‘wood’ (the standard Old English dative bearwe being preserved in Barrow)...
[more] BEHNGermanFrom the German male personal name
Behn, a shortened form of
Bernhard. A famous bearer was the English novelist and dramatist Aphra Behn (1640-1689).
BEHRINGERGermanHabitational name for someone from either of two places called Behringen, near Soltau and in Thuringia, or from Böhringen in Württemberg.
BEININGGermanThis famous surname, one of the earliest recorded in history, and recorded in over two hundred spellings from Benedicte, Benech and Bennet, to Banish, Beinosovitch and Vedyasov, derives from the Roman personal name "Benedictus", meaning blessed.
BELZERGermanOccupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative of Middle High German
bel(li)z "fur"
BENDERGerman, German (East Prussian)As a German surname, Bender is a regional occupational surname from the Rhineland area denoting a "barrel-maker" (the Standard German
Fassbinder became "Fassbender" in the local dialects and ultimately was shortened to Bender)....
[more] BENNINGGermanFrom the Germanic name Berno, which was derived from Old German "bero", meaning bear.
BENZGermanSouth German: (in Alemannic areas) from a short form of the Germanic personal name Berthold, or to a lesser extent of Bernhard
BERBERGermanPossibly a habitational name from a place called Berber near Kevelaer.
BERENTZENGermanThe surname is derived from the given name
Bernd and was formerly written "Bernd sin Sohn" which meant "son of
Bernd". The spelling Berentzen developped through the years.
BERGDORFGermanOrigin unidentified. Possibly a German habitational name from places in Hamburg and Lower Saxony called Bergedorf, Bargdorf in Lower Saxony, or Bergsdorf in Brandenburg.
BERLINGerman, English, SwedishHabitational name from the city in Germany, the name of which is of uncertain meaning. It is possibly derived from an Old Slavic stem
berl- meaning
swamp or from a West Slavic word meaning "river lake"....
[more] BERNGerman, Scandinavian, German (Swiss)German and Scandinavian: from the personal name Berno, a pet form of Bernhard. In South German it comes from the habitational name from Bern, Switzerland, notably in the south; in other parts from the personal name
Berno.
BERNERGerman, Low GermanGerman habitational name, in Silesia denoting someone from a place called Berna (of which there are two examples); in southern Germany and Switzerland denoting someone from the Swiss city of Berne. ...
[more] BERNFIELDGermanAn Americanized variant of the German surname, "Bergfeld", meaning "mountain field".
BESSELGermanOf uncertain origin; possibly from the name of a place or river.
BEVERGermanNickname from bever ‘beaver’, possibly referring to a hard worker, or from some other fancied resemblance to the animal.
BHAERGermanLikely a variant of German
BAER, meaning "bear". A notable bearer is character Friedrich Bhaer, Jo's husband in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
BIELERGerman, JewishJewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of the many places in eastern Europe whose name incorporates the Slavic element
byel- ‘white’....
[more] BIERBAUMGermanGerman: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, Middle Low German berbom. Compare
Birnbaum.
BIRCHEnglish, German, Danish, SwedishTopographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from a Germanic word meaning ‘birch’ (Old English
birce ‘birch’, Middle High German
birche, Old Danish
birk)...
[more] BIRKGermanEither a variant of
Buerk or a habitational name derived from places named Birk, Birke, or Birken.
BIRNBAUMGermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree, from Middle High German
bir "pear" and
boum "tree".
BITTENBINDERGermanOccupational name for a cooper, from Middle High German
büte(n) "cask", "(wine) barrel" +
binder "binder" (agent derivative of
binden "to bind").
BLASIUSGerman, Dutch, ScandinavianFrom the Latin personal name
Blasius. This was a Roman family name, originating as a byname for someone with some defect, either of speech or gait, from Latin
blaesus "stammering" (compare Greek
blaisos "bow-legged")...
[more] BLAUGermanFrom Middle High German
blā "blue" (Old High German
blāo), applied as a nickname with various senses: someone who habitually wore blue clothes, a dyer, someone with blue eyes, a sickly or pale person, someone with a bluish complexion resulting from poor circulation, etc.
BLAUMGermanGerman last name, likely a variant of the last name Blom or Blum, referring to the word flower/blooming.
BLITZGermanThis surname is presumed to be coming from a nickname for a fast runner or a quick tempered person, from German
blitz(er) meaning "lightning" (ultimately from Middle High German
blicze.)
BLUHMGermanGerman alternate spelling of the Italian surname,
Blum meaning flower.
BLUMGermanFrom Middle High German
bluom "flower", hence an occupational name for a flower gardener or a florist.
BLUTHGerman, JewishGerman and Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from Middle High German bluot, German Blüte ‘bloom’, ‘flower head’. ...
[more] BODEMANGermanBodeman is an occupational name meaning "adherent of the royal messenger".
BODENGerman, Low GermanPatronymic from the personal name
BODE or a topographic name for someone living in a valley bottom or the low-lying area of a field. From Middle High German
boden "ground, bottom".
BODINGermanProbably derived from various Germanic personal names beginning with
Bod- "messenger", or from the habitational name Boddin, name of several places in Mecklenburg and Brandenburg.
BOEHMGerman, Dutch, JewishEthnic name for a native or inhabitant of Bohemia (now the western part of the Czech Republic), from
Böhmen, German name of Bohemia (Middle High German
Böheim,
Beheim). This derives its name from the tribal name
Baii +
heim "homeland"; the Baii were a tribe, probably Celtic, who inhabited the region in the 1st century A.D. and were gradually displaced by Slavic settlers in the period up to the 5th century...
[more] BOETTCHERGermanOccupational name for a cooper, from Middle High German
botecher,
bötticher,
bütticher, an agent derivative of
botech(e),
bottich,
bütte "vat", "barrel".
BOLDTGermanFrom the Germanic personal name
Baldo, a short form of the various compound names with the first element
bald ‘bold’.
BONUSFrench, German, DutchHumanistic Latinization of vernacular names meaning ‘good’, for example French Lebon or Dutch de Goede
BOOMHOUWERGerman, DutchBoomhouwer, means "Cutter of Trees", or "The one who hews trees", having Boom translating into "tree", houw meaning to "hew" or to "cut", and er meaning "the one who"....
[more] BOOTEnglish, Dutch, GermanEnglish: metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of boots, from Middle English, Old French bote (of unknown origin)....
[more] BORENGermanOf unclear origin, most likely a variant of the German surname
Born.
BORMANNGermanThis surname is presumed to be a variant of
Bornemann, which is made up of Middle Low German
born meaning "spring" and
man meaning "man," denoting someone who lived by a spring or a well.
BORNEMANNLow GermanNorth German: topographic name denoting someone who lived by a well or spring, from Middle Low German born ‘spring’, ‘well’ + man ‘man’.
BRÄGERGermanHabitational name for someone from Bräg in Bavaria.
BRANDENBURGGerman (East Prussian, Rare)From a state in eastern Germany, formerly known as Prussia, containing the capital city of Berlin. Ancient. Associated with the Margravate (Dukedom) of Brandenburg, the seat of power in the Holy Roman Empire...
[more] BRANDISGerman, Jewish, SwissGerman & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is
Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003)....
[more] BRASDutch, Low GermanDutch and North German: from Old French and Middle Dutch bras ‘arm’. This was probably a descriptive nickname for someone with some peculiarity of the arm, but the word was also used as a measure of length, and may also have denoted a surveyor.
BRAUNERSHRITHERGerman, Dutch, EnglishThis name mean Leather (Tanned) Knight, or a fighter of leather armor, or in Dutch, Leather writer, one who branded print on leather
BRECHTGermanFrom a short form of any of various personal names formed with Germanic element
berth " bright" "famous".
BREITGermanFrom Middle High German
breit meaning "broad". a nickname for a stout or fat person.
BREITZMANNGermanDerived from the name of a town called "Britz" in Germany + the suffix "mann" for man.
BRINERGerman (Swiss)Habitational name for someone from Brin in Grison canton (Graubünden) or from the Brin valley.
BROCKERGermanNorth German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook
bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BROCKMANGermanGerman in origin, in heraldry a "brock" is represented by a badger. It could mean wet/water and man. It also has been said to mean broker.
BROOKGerman, DutchTopographic name for someone who lived by a water meadow or marsh, from Low German
brook, Dutch
broek (cf.
BRUCH)....
[more] BRUCHGermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a marsh or a stream that frequently flooded, from Middle High German
bruoch "water meadow" or "marsh" (cognate to old English
broc "brook", "stream" cf...
[more] BRÜCKGermanTopographic name for someone who lived near a bridge, or an occupational name for a bridge keeper or toll collector on a bridge, from Middle High German
bruck(e) "bridge".
BRUCKNERGermanTopographic name for someone living by a bridge or an occupational name for a bridge toll collector; a variant of
Bruck with the addition of the suffix -ner.
BRUDERGermanFrom a byname meaning "brother", occasionally used for a younger son, i.e. the brother of someone important, or for a guild member.
BRUECKNERGerman, German (Silesian)German (Brückner): from Middle Low German brugge, Middle High German brugge, brücke, brügge ‘bridge’ + the agent suffix -ner, hence a topographic name for someone living by a bridge, an occupational name for a bridge toll collector, or in the southeast (Silesia for example) a bridge keeper or repairer...
[more] BRUEGGEMANNLow German, GermanNorth German (Brüggemann): topographic name for someone who lived near a bridge or a metonymic occupational name for a bridge keeper or street paver, Middle Low German brüggeman (see
Bruckman,
Brueckner).
BRUENGermanThis is my 2nd great uncle's wife's Surname of German ancestry.
BRUGGERGerman, AmericanSouth German variant or Americanized spelling of North German Brügger (see
Bruegger). habitational name for someone from any of various (southern) places called Bruck or Brugg in Bavaria and Austria.
BUCHGermanTopographic name for someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, from Middle High German
buoche, or a habitational name from any of the numerous places so named with this word, notably in Bavaria and Württemberg...
[more] BUCHERGermanUpper German surname denoting someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, derived from Middle High German
buoche "beech tree".
BUELTERGerman, EnglishMiddle European variant of Butler, also meaning "a vat or large trough used to contain wine." The name originated in southern Germany in the mid-seventeenth century.
BUERMEISTERGermanNorth German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German
bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ +
mester ‘master’.
BURGEREnglish, German, DutchStatus name for a freeman of a borough. From Middle English
burg, Middle High German
burc and Middle Dutch
burch "fortified town". Also a German habitational name for someone from a place called Burg.
BURGMEIERGermanOccupational name for the tenant farmer of an estate belonging to a castle or fortified town, from Middle High German
burc "(fortified) town, castle" and
meier "tenant farmer" (see
Meyer).
BURKHALTERGermanTopographic name composed of the Middle High German elements
burc "castle" "protection" and
halter from
halde "slope".
BURKHARDTGermanBurk is German for "Strong", and hardt is the "heart of a castle".
BURMEISTERGermanNorth German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German
bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ +
mester ‘master’.
BUTTEREnglish, German1. English: nickname for someone with some fancied resemblance to a bittern, perhaps in the booming quality of the voice, from Middle English, Old French butor ‘bittern’ (a word of obscure etymology)...
[more] BÜTTNERGermanOccupational name for a cooper or barrel-maker, an agent derivative of Middle High German
büte(n) "cask", "wine barrel". This name occurs chiefly in eastern German-speaking regions.
CABELLCatalan, English, GermanAs a Catalan name, a nickname for "bald" from the Spanish word
cabello. The English name, found primarily in Norfolk and Devon, is occupational for a "maker or seller of nautical rope" that comes from a Norman French word...
[more] CABLEEnglish, GermanEnglish: metonymic occupational name for a maker of rope, especially the type of stout rope used in maritime applications, from Anglo-Norman French
cable ‘cable’ (Late Latin
capulum ‘halter’, of Arabic origin, but associated by folk etymology with Latin
capere ‘to seize’)....
[more] CARLINIrish (Anglicized), Scottish, French, Swedish, Italian, Jewish (Anglicized), GermanIrish (now also common in Scotland) anglicized form of Gaelic
Ó Cairealláin, an Ulster family name, also sometimes Anglicized as
Carlton, meaning ‘descendant of Caireallán’, a diminutive of the personal name
Caireall...
[more] CHRISTGermanFrom the Latin personal name
Christus "Christ" (see
Christian). The name
Christ (Latin
Christus) is from Greek
Khristos, a derivative of
khriein "to anoint", a calque of Hebrew
mashiach "Messiah", which likewise means literally "the anointed".
CHRYSLERGerman, JewishFrom a German name referring to spinning or related to a Yiddish word,
krayzl meaning "spinning top." The name can refer to a potter who spun a wheel to make utensils or to a person with curly hair or someone known for being continually active...
[more] CLAASSENGermanThe name Claassen means "son of Klaus." It's primarily German, but it's also Dutch and Danish.
COPPENHAVERGermanAmericanized spelling, probably originally spelled Kopenhaver or Koppenhaver. Means "owner of a hill".
CRABBEnglish, Scottish, German, Dutch, DanishEnglish and Scottish, from Middle English crabbe, Old English
crabba ‘crab’ (the crustacean), a nickname for someone with a peculiar gait. English and Scottish from Middle English
crabbe ‘crabapple (tree)’ (probably of Old Norse origin), hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a crabapple tree...
[more] CRAUWELSFlemish, Dutch, GermanDerrives from the Middle Dutch (medieval Dutch) word "crauwel" and Middle High German word "kröuwel" which means "flesh hook", "curved fork" or "trident". The word is no longer used. The first person with this name was most likely a farmer, butcher or a person that runned an inn or a hostel that was named after this tool.
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).