EichhornGerman, Jewish German topographic name for someone who lived on or near an oak-covered promontory, from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’ + horn ‘horn’, ‘promontory’. German from Middle High German eichhorn ‘squirrel’ (from Old High German eihhurno, a compound of eih ‘oak’ + urno, from the ancient Germanic and Indo-European name of the animal, which was later wrongly associated with hurno ‘horn’); probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, or alternatively a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a squirrel... [more]
EinhornGerman, Jewish Derived from German Einhorn (Middle High German einhorn) "unicorn", denoting someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a unicorn.
EinsteinGerman, Jewish From German ein meaning “one” and stein meaning “stone”; also a habitational name from any of the various locations from Middle High German einsteinen meaning “to enclose or surround with stone”... [more]
EiseleGerman From a short pet form of the personal name Isenhart, from Old High German isan ‘iron’ + hart ‘hardy’, ‘strong’. From Isenlin, a compound of Middle High German isen ‘iron’ + the hypocoristic suffix -lin, hence a nickname for a blacksmith, ironworker, or dealer in iron.
EisenGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for an ironworker or smith, or an ironmonger, from Middle High German isen ‘iron’, German Eisen. It may also have been used as a nickname, with reference to the strength and hardness of iron or to its color, while as a Jewish name it was also adopted as an ornamental name from modern German Eisen ‘iron’ or the Yiddish cognate ayzn.
EisenbergGerman, Jewish Means "iron hill" from German isen meaning "iron" and berg meaning "hill".
EisenbergerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of the several places called Eisenberg. As a Jewish name it is also an ornamental name.
EisenhauerGerman Occupational name meaning "iron cutter" where Eisen- means "iron" and -hauer means "hewer". The verb 'hew' being less well used in English than in earlier times, but still understood to mean cut, such as in hewing tree limbs... [more]
EisnerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for an ironworker, smith, or ironmonger, from an agent derivative of Middle High German īsen and German Eisen, meaning ‘iron’ (see Eisen).
ElichGerman, American Surname meaning "noble" from edelik or edelich. Notable bearer is professional ice hockey player Matt Elich.
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".
EllenderGerman Respelling of German Elender, a nickname for a stranger or newcomer, from Middle High German ellende ‘strange’, ‘foreign’, or a habitational name for someone from any of twenty places named Elend, denoting a remote settlement, as for example in the Harz Mountains or in Carinthia, Austria.
EllerGerman Habitational name from places in the North Rhine and Mosel areas
EllerhoffGerman This name means "Black Alder Tree Courtyard" and was inspired by a tree in a yard at the family farm in Nettelstedt, Germany.
ElmendorfGerman Derived from a village with the same name in the district of Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.
ElsingGerman From a variant of the old personal name Elsung.
EmelGerman From a short form of any of the various Germanic personal names beginning with the element amal, which means ‘strength’ or ‘vigor’.
EmmerGerman A topographic name for someone who lived by land where grain was grown, a status name for someone who owned such land, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or dealt in grain.
EngelbertGerman, English, French From a Germanic personal name composed of engel (see Engel) + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. The widespread popularity of the name in France during the Middle Ages was largely a result of the fact that it had been borne by a son-in-law of Charlemagne; in the Rhineland it was more often given in memory of a bishop of Cologne (1216–25) of this name, who was martyred.
EngelmannGerman 1 German: variant of Engel 1, with the addition of the personal suffix -mann ‘man’, sometimes denoting a pet form.... [more]
EnglanderGerman, Jewish Ethnic name derived from German Engländer, meaning 'Englishman', thus denoting an incomer from England. In some cases, the Jewish name may be an ornamental adoption.
EpplerGerman Occupational name for a fruit grower or dealer, from Middle High German epfeler meaning "grower of or dealer in apples".
EpshteynGerman, Jewish This surname may be derived from a German town known as Eppstein in Hesse. Epp probably came from Gaulish apa which means water or river and stein translates into English as stone.
EpsteinGerman, Jewish A habitational name for someone from a place named Eppstein, which is from Old High German ebur meaning ‘wild boar’ and stein meaning ‘stone’.
ErberJewish, German Meaning uncertain. Either a habitational name for someone living in a place named Erb or Erp, a name for a owner of a farm named Erbhof (derived from MIddle High German erbære "honorable, noble"), or derived from the given name Erpo.
ErmanGerman (Modern), French (Modern) Erman is a shortened French adaption of the Swiss-German surname Ermendinger, itself derived from the older surname Ermatinger, a name connected to the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance, and came into existence during the early or middle 18th century when Jean-Georges Ermendinger (1710-1767), a Swiss fur trader from Geneva, married into a French speaking Huguenotte family... [more]
ErmatingerGerman (Swiss) The surname Ermatinger derives from the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance. It simply means "from Ermatingen".... [more]
ErmendingerGerman The surname Ermendinger was derived from the older surname Ermatinger, a name connected to the village of Ermatingen on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance, and came into existence at some point during the early 17th or late 16th century when a branch of the Ermatinger family relocated from Schaffhausen, Switzerland, to Mulhouse, Alsace... [more]
ErnsbergerGerman (Anglicized, Modern) Also spelled (Ehrnsberger) has been said that a Christian Ernsberger or Ehrnsberger came to the U.S. in 1710 from Germany but i dont know from where in Germany.
ErtelGerman South German: from a pet form of a personal name beginning with Ort-, from Old High German ort "point" (of a sword or lance)
EsauWelsh, German From the Biblical personal name Esau, meaning ‘hairy’ in Hebrew (Genesis 25:25).
EscherDutch, German German habitational name for someone from any of the various places called Esch, Esche, or Eschen.
EslerGerman German: byname or occupational name for someone who drove donkeys, from Middle High German esel ‘donkey’ + the agent suffix -er.
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]
EttlingerGerman Deriving from Ettlingen, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
EulerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a potter, most common in the Rhineland and Hesse, from Middle High German ul(n)ære (an agent derivative of the dialect word ul, aul "pot", from Latin olla).
FahrGerman, German (Swiss) A topographic name for someone who lived near a crossing point on a river, from Middle High German vare, meaning ferry.
FahrenheitGerman Derived from German fahren, meaning, "to ride", and Heit, which is the equivalent to the suffix "-ness". A famous bearer was Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686- 1736), a Polish physicist who invented the Fahrenheit temperature measuring system.
FalkenhagenGerman Habitational name from any of several places named from Old High German falke meaning "falcon" + hag meaning "hedge", "fencing". A place so named is documented west of Berlin in the 14th century.
FalknerGerman Occupational name for a falconer, Middle High German vakenoere. In medieval times falconry was a sport practised only by the nobility; it was the task of the falconer to look after the birds and train young ones.
FassGerman From Middle High German faz, German Fass 'cask', 'keg', hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of casks and kegs, or a nickname for someone as rotund as a barrel. German: variant of Fasse, Faas.
FastGerman, Swedish Either a short form of a name starting with the element fast meaning "steadfast, firm", or a nickname for a reliable steadfast person.
FattigGerman (Americanized) Coming from the name “attig” meaning German royalty or nobles. It is also thought to come from Sweden meaning “poor”.
FeckGerman, Frisian From a short form of the Frisian personal name Feddeke, a pet form of Fre(de)rik (see Friederich).
FellEnglish, German, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a furrier, from Middle English fell, Middle High German vel, or German Fell or Yiddish fel, all of which mean "skin, hide, pelt". Yiddish fel refers to untanned hide, in contrast to pelts "tanned hide" (see Pilcher).
FellerEnglish, German, Jewish Occupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative of Middle English fell, Middle Low German, Middle High German vel, or German Fell or Yiddish fel "hide, pelt". See also Fell.
FellerGerman Habitational name for someone from a place called Feld(e) or Feld(a) in Hesse.
Fenrich De GjurgjenovacGerman Fenrich is a German family name, derived from a military title 'fenrich'/'fähn(d)rich' meaning "ensign" or "standard bearer" (bannerman), from early New High German fenrich. The term was formed and came into use around 1500, replacing Middle High German form vener, an agent derivative of Alemannic substantive van (flag).... [more]
FettGerman Nickname for a fat man, from Middle Low German vett meaning "fat".
FeuerGerman Metonymic occupational name for a stoker in a smithy or public baths, or nickname for someone with red hair or a fiery temper, from Middle High German viur "fire".
FeuerbacherGerman Habitational name for someone from any of the places called Feuerbach.
FeuerhahnGerman Feuerhahn comes from the Old High German words (fivr) meaning "fire" & (hano) meaning "cock".
FeuerschütteGerman (Modern) comes from the combination of the words "Feuer" and "Schütte", which form the word "flamethrower". Surname of a Brazilian Celebrity with German Origin "Lucas Feuerschütte"
FeuersteinGerman This name comes from the German feuer meaning fire, and stein meaning stone. This was a name commonly given to a blacksmith.
FichterGerman Topographic name for someone who lived near pine trees (originally bei den Fichten, Feichten, or Feuchten), from Old High German fiohta. The vowel of the first syllable underwent a variety of changes in different dialects.
FichterGerman (Austrian) Habitational name deriving from places named with this word in Württemberg, Bavaria, Saxony, or Austria.
FichtnerGerman The Fichtner family name first began to be used in the German state of Bavaria. After the 12th century, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules, and names that were derived from locations became particularly common
FieneGerman, Low German A nickname for an elegant person, from Middle Low German fin, meaning ‘fine’. Can also be a locational name from several fields and places named Fiene.
FingerEnglish, German, Jewish Probably applied as a nickname for a man who had some peculiarity of the fingers, such as possessing a supernumerary one or having lost one or more of them through injury, or for someone who was small in stature or considered insignificant... [more]
FinkGerman, Slovene, English, Jewish Nickname for a lively or cheerful person, Jewish ornamental name derived from the Germanic word for "finch", and German translation of Slovene Šinkovec which is from šcinkovec or šcinkavec meaning "finch".
FiscusGerman From Latin fiscus ‘basket’, a humanistic Latinization of the German name Korb. This is a metonymic occupational name for a basketmaker or a peddler, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a basket... [more]
FleigGerman Nickname for a restless or insignificant person from Middle Low German vleige ‘fly’.
FleischmanGerman (Austrian) Fleischman translates in English to Meat Man, or Butcher It is most often used with a single "n" for those who were persecuted as Jews. Other Germanic spellings for Christians and others not deemed Jewish are Fleischmann, or Fleishmann... [more]
FlintEnglish, German Topographic name for someone who lived near a significant outcrop of flint, Old English, Low German flint, or a nickname for a hard-hearted or physically tough individual.
FloerchingerGerman Habitational name for someone from Flörchingen in the Saar region.
FloerkeGerman Floerke Name Meaning German (Flörke): from a pet form of the personal names Florian or Florentinus, from Latin Florus (from florere ‘to bloom’).Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4... [more]
FoltzGerman It is from Germany and it is based on the personal name Volz, which was popular in former times. It means son or descendant of a Volz or Folz
FreiburgGerman Derives from the German words, frei, which means free, and berg, which means hill, and is the name of a city in Germany.
FreidhofGerman Topographical name from the German Fredihof 'graveyard', 'cemetery' (from Middle Low German, Middle High German vrithof 'enclosed farmstead or courtyard', later 'cemetery').
FreierGerman Status name of the feudal system denoting a free man, as opposed to a bondsman, from an inflected form of Middle High German vri "free".
FreierGerman Archaic occupational name, from Middle High German, Middle Low German vrier, vriger, denoting a man who had the ceremonial duty of asking guests to a wedding.
FurmanPolish, Czech, Slovak, Jewish, Slovene, English, German (Anglicized) Polish, Czech, Slovak, Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic), and Slovenian: occupational name for a carter or drayman, the driver of a horse-drawn delivery vehicle, from Polish, Yiddish, and Slovenian furman, a loanword from German (see Fuhrmann)... [more]
FurrerGerman (Swiss) Topographic name from the regional term furre ‘cleft in the ground’.
GalishoffUpper German, German (Austrian) Derived from the ancient Roman name "Gallus", meaning "rooster" in Latin. "Hoff" meaning house combines the growing or tending to poultry on a farm house, hence the name "Galishoff" which has been modified over the millennia... [more]
GanzGerman, German (Swiss) Variant of Gans 'goose'. German: from a short form of the Germanic personal name Ganso, a cognate of modern German ganz 'whole', 'all'.
GasserGerman (Swiss) Occupational name for a goat herd from Middle High German geiz meaning "Goat" and (n)er an agent suffix.
GassmannGerman, Jewish From German Gasse or Yiddish גאַס (gas), both from Middle High German gazze, meaning "street", denoting someone who lived in a street of a city, town or village.... [more]
GatlinGerman Possibly an altered spelling of German Göttling, from a Germanic personal name formed with god ‘god’ or god ‘good’ + -ling suffix of affiliation, or, like Gättling (of which this may also be an altered form), a nickname from Middle High German getlinc ‘companion’, ‘kinsman’.
GeigleGerman Meaning "violinist" in Swabian German.
GeipelhorstGerman This rather rare surname is appears to be the combination of "Geipel", which is a variant of "Geibel" originating from a personal name or topographic name formed with Old High German gawi ‘fertile region’, ‘countryside’ (as opposed to a town), and "Horst" which came from of Old High German, meaning "man from the forest", "bosk" or "brushwood"... [more]
GeisbergerGerman Regional name for someone who lives in a town in Germany called "Geisa".
GeiselhartGerman (Silesian, Rare), Ancient Germanic (Lombardic, Rare), Old High German (Rare) Possibly after the Geisel, a river in Saxony-Anhalt, which likely received its name from either the Lombardic patronym Giso, meaning "noble, precious promise" or from the Old High German gewi, from the Gothic gavi, or gaujis, a which is a medieval term for a "region within a country", often a former or actual province combined with the suffix Hart, which means "stag", and comes from the Middle English hert and the Old English heort.... [more]
GeiserGerman, German (Swiss) Occupational name for a goatherd, from a derivative of Middle High German geiz 'goat'.
GeisingerGerman Denoted a person from the town of Geising in Germany, which in turn got it's name from the Geisingberg mountain. The Geisingberg most likely got it's name from the Germanic geut or the Early New High German geußen, both meaning "to pour", and the German word Berg meaning "mountain"... [more]
GeistGerman Habitational name for someone who lived in a house marked by the sign of the Holy Spirit (normally depicted as a dove), from Middle High German geist 'spirit'.
GellerYiddish, German, Russian The name may derive from the German word "gellen" (to yell) and mean "one who yells." It may derive from the Yiddish word "gel" (yellow) and mean the "yellow man" or from the Yiddish word "geler," an expression for a redheaded man... [more]
GemündGerman Regional name for someone who lives in Gemünden.
GerlingGerman German patronymic from a short form of a Germanic personal name beginning with the element gar, ger ‘spear’, ‘lance’.
GermanEnglish, Norman, German, Jewish, Greek From Old French germain meaning "German". This sometimes denoted an actual immigrant from Germany, but was also used to refer to a person who had trade or other connections with German-speaking lands... [more]
GfellerGerman Topographical name for someone who lived by a gorge, Middle High German gevelle, or a habitational name for someone from any of various places in Bavaria and Austria named from this word.
GiesingerGerman Denoted a person from the town of Giesing in Germany. Or perhaps a variant spelling of Geisinger. A famous bearer of this surname is the German singer-songwriter Max Giesinger.
GingrichGerman (Americanized) Potentially from German “junge” and “reich,” meaning “rich at a young age.” Anglicized by immigrants as either Gingrich or Guengerich.
GinsburgGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone who came from Gunzberg in Bavaria, Günsburg in Swabia, or Gintsshprik (Königsburg) in East Prussia. Its origin is from the name of the river Günz, written in early Latin documents as Guntia, which was probably of Celtic origin, and Old High German burg meaning "Fortress, walled town".
GishGerman From a shortened form of the Germanic personal name Gisulf, literally "hostage wolf". It was borne by American actress Lillian Gish (?1893-1993), original name Lillian de Guiche.
GlockGerman Meant "person who lives by a church bell-tower or in a house with the sign of a bell", "bell-ringer" or "town crier" (German Glocke "bell"). It was borne by Sir William Glock (1908-2000), a British music administrator.
GloffGerman German and Swiss German: from the Germanic personal name Egilolf, composed of the elements agi(l) ‘edge’, ‘point’ (of a sword) + wolf ‘wolf’, cognate with Old English Ecgwulf. This was the name of several Lombard kings (ancestors of the Bavarian ducal line of the Agilolfinger), who introduced the name to Italy.
GödelGerman From an Old German personal name, Godilo, Godila.German (Gödel): from a pet form of a compound personal name beginning with the element god ‘good’ or god, got ‘god’.Variant of Godl or Gödl, South German variants of Gote, from Middle High German got(t)e, gö(t)te ‘godfather’.
GoebbelsGerman, History Originally an occupational name for a brewer. Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.