This is a list of submitted surnames in which the usage is German; and the name appears on the United States popularity list.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
BockelmannGerman Possibly derived from the name Bockel, a place in Germany. A famous bearer is Udo Jürgens (1934-2014), an Austrian musician, born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann.
BodeGerman, Dutch, English, Danish Means "messenger, deliverer, herald; prophet, omen", ultimately from Old Germanic budą. This can be an occupational name, or a patronymic derived from a given name containing the element (see Bothe).
BodemanGerman Bodeman is an occupational name meaning "adherent of the royal messenger".
BodenGerman, Low German Patronymic 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".
BodensteinGerman Denotes somebody from any of several places in Bavaria named "Bodenstein".
BodinGerman (Rare) Likely derived from various Germanic personal names containing the name element Bod meaning "messenger". Another theory is that the name could be derived from any of the several places named Boddin in Germany.
BoettcherGerman Occupational name for a cooper, from Middle High German botecher, bötticher, bütticher, an agent derivative of botech(e), bottich, bütte "vat", "barrel".
BohneGerman Habitational name for someone form the town of Bone in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
BohnerGerman Occupational name from an agent derivative of Middle Low German bönen meaning "to board, to lay a floor", and a topographic name for someone who lived in a loft, derived from a variant of Bohne combined with the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant.
BoldGerman, English English: nickname from Middle English bold ‘courageous’, ‘daring’ (Old English b(e)ald, cognate with Old High German bald). In some cases it may derive from an Old English personal name (see Bald)... [more]
BollandFrench, German, English From the Ancient Germanic name Bolland. Alternatively it derive from the place name Bowland from the Old English boga meaning "bow" and land meaning "land".
BollingEnglish, German nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling 'pollard', or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling 'excessive drinking'. German (Bölling): from a personal name Baldwin
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).
BookmanGerman (East Prussian) Bookman, as a surname, derives from East Purssian origin. It is the American version of “Buchmann” with “Buch” meaning book in German, and “Mann” meaning man, creating the Americanized German surname Bookman.
BootGerman, Dutch Metonymic occupational name for a boat builder, sailor, or a ship’s carpenter, from Dutch boot "boat, ship".
BootDutch, German Patronymic form of Bode, derived from either Old High German boto "messenger, envoy" or the related bot "command, order".
BormannGerman This 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.
BornGerman, English A topographical name indicating someone who lived near a stream, from the Old English "burna, burne". Alternatively, it could be contemporarily derived from the modern English word "born". Possible variants include Bourne, Burns 1 and Boren.
BrakhageGerman Possibly from the Old German word 'brak' meaning 'uncultivated field,' or from the Middle German word 'brachen' meaning 'to till the soil.' ... [more]
BrandenburgGerman habitational name from Brandenburg the name of a province its principal city and numerous other places.
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]
BrandhorstGerman, Dutch Possibly derived from brant "fire, torch, sword" and horst "thicket, grove, heap, elevated land" or "nest of a bird of prey, eyrie".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & 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]
BrauchGerman From Middle High German bruchen "to enjoy".
BräunlichGerman Originally a nickname for a person who had brown hair or skin, meaning "brownish" in German.
BraunschweigGerman, Jewish Denoted a person from the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is of Old Saxon origin meaning "Bruno's settlement".
BreithauptGerman Nickname for someone with a broad head, from Middle High German breit "broad" and houbet or houpt "head".
BreitkreutzGerman probably a nickname for a person with a broad butt. Breitkreutz replaced an earlier more transparent form of the surname Breitarsch the use of kreuz (literally "cross") as a euphemism for "buttocks" first occurring in the 17th century... [more]
BreitnerGerman Derived from Middle High German breit meaning "broad, fat, wide". This was either a nickname for a stout or fat person, a topographic name for someone who lived on fertile and flat land, or an occupational name for a farmer who owned such land... [more]
BreitwieserGerman Derived from German breit "broad" and wisa "meadow".
BremerGerman Indicated a person from Bremen in the State of Bremen, Germany.
BrennerGerman, German (Austrian), Jewish Derived from Middle High German brennen "to burn". Both as a German and a Jewish name, this was an occupational name for a distiller of spirits. As a German surname, however, it also occasionally referred to a charcoal or lime burner or to someone who cleared forests by burning.
BreuerGerman, Jewish occupational name for a brewer of beer or ale from Middle High German briuwer "brewer". Cognate of Brewer.
BricknerGerman Derived from "brückenbauer," which means "bridge builder" in English. It was originally an occupational name for someone who built bridges. Over time, the name Brickner was likely shortened from Brückenbauer to its current form.
BrinkerGerman, Dutch Derived from brink "edge, slope" or "village green", indicating that the bearer of the surname lived near a prominent slope of land or next to the centre of a village.
BrochtrupGerman Possibly indicated someone who was from a farm called Brochtrup in the town of Lüdinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is American actor Bill Brochtrup (1963-).
BrockerGerman North German topographic name for someone who lived by a swamp, from Middle Low German brook bog + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.
BrockhausGerman Occupational hereditary surname for a person who was physically powerful, derived from Old German brock which may refer to persons with a stocky or strong build. Or derived from Old German "Brook" or "Brauk," for people near a marshy landscape, common in northern regions.
BrockmanGerman German 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.
BruchGerman Topographic 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]
BrückGerman Topographic 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".
BrucknerGerman Topographic 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.
BrucksGerman A variant of the German based surname 'Bruck', which roughly means 'bridge'.
BruderGerman From 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, German North 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).
BruenGerman This is my 2nd great uncle's wife's Surname of German ancestry.
BrüggemannGerman Name for someone who worked as a street paver or bridge keeper, or someone who lived near a bridge. From Middle Low German brügge "bridge" or brüggeman "street paver".
BruggerGerman, American South 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.
BrühlGerman, Jewish Topographic name for someone who lived by a swampy area, derived from Middle High German brüel and Middle Low German brul meaning "swampy land with brushwood". It may also be a habitational name from various places named Brühl in Germany.
BrunkeGerman Nickname for an ostentatious dresser, from Middle High German brunke "splendor".
BrunswickEnglish, German English habitational name from the city in Saxony now known in German as Braunschweig. ... [more]
BuchGerman Topographic 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]
BucheGerman Meaning "beech" and denoting someone who lived near beech trees.
BucherGerman Upper German surname denoting someone who lived by a beech tree or beech wood, derived from Middle High German buoche "beech tree".
BüchlerGerman Habitional name for someone from Büchle or Büchel, or who lived near beech trees, ultimately from Büche "beech (tree)". Alternatively, could be an occupational name for someone who pressed oil from beechnuts.
BuechlerGerman From the common field name Büchle 'beech stand', the -er suffix denoting an inhabitant. from buchel 'beech nut', hence a metonymic occupation name for someone who owned or worked in an oil mill producing oil from beech nuts.
BuehlGerman Topographic name for someone who lived on a hillside, from Middle High German bühel meaning "hill", or a habitational name from a place called Bühl, for example in Baden. Compare Buhl.
BuhlmGerman Nickname for a male relative (i.e. a member of an important family who was not the head of it), from Middle High German buole ‘kinsman’ (Old High German buolo, also used as a personal name).... [more]
BühlerGerman From the German word "bühl", meaning hill.
BurgerEnglish, German, Dutch Status 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.
BurgmeierGerman Occupational 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 1).
BurkhalterGerman Topographic name composed of the Middle High German elements burc "castle" "protection" and halter from halde "slope".
BurkhardtGerman Burk is German for "Strong", and hardt is the "heart of a castle".
BurmeisterGerman North German: status name for the mayor or chief magistrate of a town, from Middle Low German bur ‘inhabitant, dweller’, ‘neighbor’, ‘peasant’, ‘citizen’ + mester ‘master’.
BurrEnglish, Scottish, German Nickname for a person who is difficult to shake off, derived from Middle English burr meaning "bur" (a seedhead that sticks to clothing). It could also be a derivation from Old English bur meaning "small dwelling, building", or a German topographic name derived from burre meaning "mound, hill"... [more]
ButterEnglish, German 1. 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]
BüttnerGerman Occupational 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.
CaanScottish, German, Jewish Altered spelling of Jewish Cohen, or probably denoted a person from the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Famous bearers of this surname include American actor James Caan (1940-2022), as well as his son Scott Caan (1976-), also a noted actor.
CabellCatalan, English, German As 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]
CaradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Americanized form of German Gardein, itself a Germanized spelling of French Jardin. It could also denote someone from the village and civil parish of Carden in Cheshire, England.
CarlinGerman Habitational name from a place named Carlin in Germany.
CarradineEnglish, German (Anglicized) Variant spelling of Caradine. This name is borne by members of the Carradine family of actors, notably the American actor John Carradine (1906-1988).
CasselEnglish, French, German A surname derived from the Latin military term castellum "watchtower, fort". A variant spelling of the word castle. Denoted someone hailing from the commune of Cassel in the Nord départment in northern France or the city of Kassel (spelled Cassel until 1928) in Germany... [more]
CasselberryGerman (Anglicized) Americanized form of German Kesselberg, which may derive from various places called Kesselberg or Kesselburg in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria in Germany.
ChristGerman, Dutch Either from a short form of the personal name Christian, or from a nickname meaning "the Christian", both from Latin Christ (see Christos 1).
ChryslerGerman, Jewish From 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]
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.”
CriteLow German, Upper German (Americanized) Probably an Americanized form of South German Kreit or Kreith which are topographic names derived from Middle High German geriute meaning “land cleared for farming” or of North German Kreite which is a nickname for a quarrelsome person derived from Middle Low German kreit meaning “strife.”
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.
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".
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.