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".
AllemannGerman (Swiss) Derived from German Alemanne, originally "member of the Alemanni tribe", this word came to denote "of Germanic descent". It was used to refer to members of the German-speaking population of Switzerland (as opposed to those who spoke one of the Romance languages; compare Welsch).
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.
AmreinGerman (Swiss) Derived from the prepostion am "at" and German Rain "edge of plowed land".
AmslerGerman (Swiss) Derived from German Amsel "(European) blackbird", this was an occupational name for a fowler (bird catcher).
AmstutzGerman (Swiss), German (Austrian) Topographic name for someone living near or at the foot of a steep mountainside, German am Stutz ‘at the escarpment’.
ArnGerman (Swiss), English, Swedish Swedish: from a short form of any of the many Norse names of which arn ‘eagle’ is the first element, for example Arnbjorn, Arnfinn, or Arnsten.... [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.
BickelGerman, German (Swiss), Jewish German: from bickel ‘pickaxe’ or ‘chisel’, hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made pickaxes or worked with a pickaxe or for a stonemason. South German: from a pet form of Burkhart... [more]
BieriGerman (Swiss) Derived from a diminutive of the given name Pierre which was also commonly used in German-speaking Switzerland.
BindschädlerGerman (Swiss) Derived from German binden "to bind" and Swiss German schädlen "to make wood vessels", this is an occupational surname referring to a cooper, a barrel maker.
BircherGerman (Swiss) South German and Swiss German topographic name for someone who lived by a birch tree or in a birch wood, from Middle High German birche "birch" + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BollingerGerman (Swiss) Habitational name for someone from any of three places called Bollingen, in Schwyz, Württemberg, and Oldenburg, or from Bohlingen near Lake Constance (which is pronounced and was formerly written as Bollingen).
EggimannGerman (Swiss) Denotes someone from the Emmental valley, a valley in Switzerland.
EllenbergGerman, Jewish, German (Swiss) Derived from two municipalities and a village called Ellenberg in Germany. As an ornamental name, it is derived from German ölenberg, literally meaning "olive mountain".
ErmatingerGerman (Swiss) The surname Ermatinger derives from the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance. It simply means "from Ermatingen".... [more]
EssLow German, German (Swiss) North German: topographic name for someone living on or owning land that was waterlogged or partly surrounded by water, from Middle Low German es ‘swamp’, ‘water’. ... [more]
FahrGerman, German (Swiss) A topographic name for someone who lived near a crossing point on a river, from Middle High German vare, meaning ferry.
FederspielGerman (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German vederspil "bird of prey (trained for hunting)", this was an occupational name for a falconer.
FinelGerman (Swiss) In colloquial language the word “Finel” describes a shelter, protecting animal and man from wind and weather.
FrickerGerman, German (Swiss) Habitational name for someone from the Frick valley in Baden, Germany, or from Frick in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland.
GartmannGerman (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German garte "garden; yard" and German Mann "man", this was occupational name for a gardener. In some cases it may have been a status name referring to the owner of a small (enclosed or fenced) farm or an occupational name for a worker at a deer preserve.
GasserGerman (Swiss) Occupational name for a goat herd from Middle High German geiz meaning "Goat" and (n)er an agent suffix.
GilgenGerman, German (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German gilge "lily", this was a habitational name from the inflected form of a house name meaning "at the lily".
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]
GrumbachGerman (Swiss), Alsatian From the name of various places in Switzerland and Germany, for example the municipality of Grumbach in Rhineland-Palatinate.
GrunwaldGerman, German (Swiss), Jewish German and Swiss German (Grünwald): habitational name from any of various places named Grün(e)wald, from Middle High German gruene ‘green’ + walt ‘wood’, ‘forest’. ... [more]
HäberliGerman (Swiss) Derived from Alemannic and Upper German Haber, a variant of Standard High German Hafer "oats" in combination with the diminutive suffix -li. This name denoted a young farmer of oats.
HässliGerman (Swiss), French (Rare) Swiss German diminutive form of Haas. This is a French surname via Alsace-Lorraine. A notable bearer is French footballer (soccer player) Eric Hassli (1981-).
HilfikerGerman (Swiss) Altered spelling of Hilfinger, patronymic derivative of the personal name Hilfo, Helfo, a short form of a Germanic personal name based on helfe 'helper'.
HotzGerman (Swiss), German Of debated origin and meaning; theories include a habitional name for someone from the Hotzenwald, a derivation from any given name containing the Germanic name element hadu "battle, combat" and a derivation from the verb hotzen "to swing, to sway, to tremble".
ImberiGerman (Swiss) It comes from Stuttgart Germany from the late 1800s. Then the name moved to a small village outside of Odessa Ukraine, in my family at least.
KaeserGerman, German (Swiss) Occupational name for a cheesemaker or a cheese merchant from an agent derivative of Middle High German kæse "cheese". Variant of Käser.
KaltGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German kalt "cold" probably applied as a nickname for someone who felt the cold or for someone with an unfriendly disposition.
KäserGerman, German (Swiss) occupational name for a cheesemaker or a cheese merchant (see Kaeser ). topographic name for someone who lived by a summer dairy in the Alps from a Tyrolean dialect word derived from Ladin casura... [more]
KienerGerman (Swiss) Nickname derived from the dialect verb chienen 'to whimper'.
KnechtGerman, German (Swiss), Dutch Means "servant, assistant" in German and Dutch, an occupational name for a journeyman or male servant derived from Old Germanic kneht meaning "servant, knight" or "youth, boy"... [more]
KnobelGerman, German (Swiss), Yiddish Derived from the Middle High German knübel probably a nickname for a fat person or in the sense "ankle". However the term also denotes a rounded elevation and may therefore also be a topographic name for someone who lived by a knoll... [more]
KronenbergGerman, German (Swiss) Habitational name from a place called Kronenberg (there is one near Wuppertal) or possibly from any of the places called Kronberg (see Kronberg ) from German Krone "crown" and German Berg "mountain, hill".
KüblerGerman, German (Swiss) Derived from Middle High German kübel "tub vat barrel", this is an occupational surname referring to a cooper.
LandisGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German nickname for a highwayman or for someone who lays waste to the land, from Middle High German landoese.
LauperGerman (Swiss) From the short form of a Germanic personal name composed of the elements liut 'people', 'tribe' + berht 'famous'. topographic name for someone who lived at a Lauben, a row of houses and stores with an arcade in front, from Middle High German loube 'arbor', 'bower', 'gallery'.
NeffGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German neve 'nephew', hence probably a distinguishing name for a close relation or familiar of a prominent personage.
NegleyGerman (Swiss) Altered spelling of Swiss German Nägele, Naegeli, or Nägeli, variants of Nagel.
OchsnerGerman (Swiss) Means "oxen herder" in Swiss, from Middle High German ohse "ox".
OechslinGerman (Swiss) South German (also Öchslein): from Middle High German ohse ‘ox’ + the diminutive suffix -lin. An occupational name for someone who tended cattle, or for a cattle dealer; or a nickname for a farmer who used oxen for plowing, or for someone perceived to resemble an ox.
OverholserGerman (Swiss) The Oberholtzer family originated in the Swiss village of Oberholtz, south of Zurich, before the 15th century. However, in 1661, one family left Switzerland for the Palatinate in Germany.
RaischGerman, German (Swiss) From Middle High German rīsch, rūsch ‘reed’, ‘rush’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived near a reed bed, or perhaps a metonymic occupational name for someone who used or harvested reeds... [more]
RampGerman (Swiss) German and Swiss German: variant of Rampf, from Middle High German ramft, ranft ‘edge’, ‘wall’, ‘crust (of bread)’; applied as a topographic name for someone who lived at the limit or outer edge of some feature, for example a field, or possibly, in the sense ‘crust’, a nickname for a poor person.
RamserGerman (Swiss), German (Austrian) someone from any of several places in the Palatinate and in Switzerland called Ramsen or from places in Austria and upper Bavaria called Ramsau. In the Bavarian dialect Rams means "scree".... [more]
RäuberGerman, German (Swiss) German, Swiss German: derogatory nickname, from Middle High German roubære ‘robber’, ‘bandit’, ‘highwayman’ (from roub, roup ‘booty’, ‘spoils’).
RellerGerman (Swiss) Occupational name for a miller, derived from the Swiss German dialect term relle meaning "grist mill".
RengelGerman (Swiss) From a pet form of a Germanic personal name formed with rang "curved", "bending"; "slender".
RepassGerman (Swiss) An Americanization of the Swiss Rippas. The first recorded person with this surname was from Ziefen, Switzerland.
RohrbachGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German: habitational name from any of numerous places called Rohrbach (‘reed brook’ or ‘channel brook’) in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is a common surname in Pennsylvania.
RoosEstonian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, German (Swiss), Low German Means "rose" in Estonian and Dutch. Swedish and Danish variant of Ros, also meaning "rose". This could be a locational name for someone living near roses, an occupational name for someone who grew roses, or a nickname for someone with reddish skin.
RuchGerman (Swiss) It was originally a nickname for a greedy person, from Middle High German ruoch ‘eager,’ ‘intent.’... [more]
RuthEnglish, German (Swiss) English: from Middle English reuthe ‘pity’ (a derivative of rewen to pity, Old English hreowan) nickname for a charitable person or for a pitiable one. Not related to the given name in this case.... [more]
ScheideggerGerman, German (Swiss) Topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary or watershed. The name was derived from the Old German word SCHEIDE, meaning 'to part, to divide'. It may also have been a habitation name from any of the numerous places named with this word.
SchrepferGerman (Swiss), German Derived from from Middle High German schrepfer "barber-surgeon's assistant", ultimately from the verb schrepfen "to bleed someone".
StaubGerman (Swiss), German, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational nickname for a miller, from Middle High German stoup, German Staub ‘dust’. The Jewish surname may also be ornamental.
SullenbergerGerman (Swiss) Derived from an unknown place called Sullenberg or from Schallenberg in Baden, Switzerland. A famous bearer is Sully Sullenberger (1951-), an American retired Air Force fighter pilot and airline captain who is best known for saving all 155 people aboard in the 2009 ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan, after both engines were disabled by a bird strike.
ThomaGerman, German (Swiss) German and Swiss German: variant of Thomas. Greek: genitive patronymic from Thomas. Genitive patronymics are particularly associated with Cyprus.
TreichelGerman (Swiss) Swiss German: from a word meaning ‘cow bell’, presumably a nickname for a cowherd or farmer, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who made cow bells.
WeiningerGerman (Swiss), Jewish Denoted a person from Weiningen, a municipality in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. It is also a Jewish ornamental name derived from German wein meaning "wine" and the suffix -inger.
WeltyGerman (Swiss) From a Swiss German diminutive of the German given name Walther. A literary bearer was the American writer Eudora Welty (1909-2001).
WengerGerman, German (Swiss) The surname Wenger is derived from the Middle High German word "wenger," "meaning "wagoner" or "cartwright."" It was an occupational name given to someone who worked as a wagon maker or driver.Another possible origin is that is derived from the German word, wenge, "meaning field of meadow"
ZuberGerman, German (Swiss) German: Metonymic occupational name for a cooper or tubmaker, from Middle High German zuber ‘(two-handled) tub’, or a habitational name from a house distinguished by the sign of a tub. ... [more]
ZugGerman (Swiss) Denotes somebody from either the Canton of Zug or town of Zug.