HerzbergGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of numerous places called Herzberg. artificial compound name from German herz "heart" and berg "hill".
HerzfeldGerman Derived from the same name of a municipality in Bitburg-Prüm, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
HessGerman Habitational name from Hesse, a German state. It can also derive from the personal name Hesso, a short form of Matthäus, Hendrick, or a name containing the element hadu "battle, strife".
HeyerGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a grower or reaper of grass for hay, from Middle High German höu "grass, hay" and the agent suffix -er. Could also be a variant spelling of Heier.
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'.
HillegasGerman German: Variant of Hillegass from a variant of the Germanic personal name Hildegaud, composed of hild ‘strife’, ‘battle’ + got, of uncertain meaning (perhaps the same word as Goth).
HillenDutch, German Patronymic of Hille, a pet form of given names containing the element hild "strife, battle".
HimmelreichGerman, Jewish humorous topographic name from a place so named as being at a high altitude from Middle High German himel "heaven" and riche "empire" meaning "kingdom of heaven, heavenly kingdom".
HimmelsteinGerman, Jewish topographic name for someone living by a feature so named from Middle High German himel "heaven, sky" and stein "rock, stone" meaning "stone in the sky, sky stone"
HimmlerGerman, History Derived from German Himmel "heaven, sky". This was a topographic name for someone living at a high altitude. ... [more]
HirschbergGerman, Jewish Derived from many places named Hirschberg in the states of Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, or the historic city of Jelenia Góra in southwestern Poland. It is composed of Middle High German hirz meaning "deer, stag" and berg meaning "hill, mountain"... [more]
HirschfeldGerman, Jewish, Yiddish Ornamental name composed of German hirsch or Yiddish hirsh meaning "deer" and feld meaning "field". It is also a topographic name for someone who lived in an area of land frequented by deer or where millets grew.
HochsteinGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a high rock or a castle of that name from Middle High German hoh "high" and stein "rock stone castle".
HockGerman Topographic name for someone living by a hedge, from a dialect variant of Heck.
HodappGerman 1 South German: probably a nickname for a clumsy person, from Middle High German hōh ‘high’, ‘tall’ + the dialect word dapp ‘fool’.... [more]
HoenDutch, German From Middle Dutch hoen "chicken, hen", perhaps a nickname denoting a silly or foolish person, or an occupational name for someone who raised chickens.
HoenDutch, German From the personal name Huno, a short form of names containing the element hun "bear cub, offspring".
HohnGerman Derived from Middle High German hon "chicken". As a surname, it was given to someone who either bred or traded in chickens.... [more]
HolbeinGerman nickname for a bow-legged man from Middle High German hol "hollow" and bein "leg".
HolbrookEnglish, German (Anglicized) English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Derbyshire, Dorset, and Suffolk, so called from Old English hol ‘hollow’, ‘sunken’ + broc ‘stream’. ... [more]
HolderGerman, Jewish, English 1. German: topographic name for someone who lived by an elder tree. Middle High German holder, or from a house named for its sign of an elder tree. In same areas, for example Alsace, the elder tree was believed to be the protector of a house... [more]
HollGerman, Dutch Topographic name meaning "hollow" or "hole", from Middle Low German and Middle High German hol.
HollingerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from places called Holling or Hollingen.
HolsteinGerman habitational name from the province of Holstein long disputed between Germany and Denmark. This gets its name from holsten the dative plural originally used after a preposition of holst from Middle Low German holt-sate "dweller in the woods" (from Middle Low German holt "wood" and satesete "tenant")... [more]
HolthausGerman North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a copse (a small group of trees), from Middle Low German holt ‘small wood’ + haus ‘house’.
HoltzclawGerman (Anglicized, Modern) Americanized spelling of German Holzklau, which translates into modern German as "wood thief", but is probably a nickname for someone who gathered wood, from Middle High German holz "wood" + a derivative of kluben "to pick up", "gather", "steal".
HoltzmannUpper German, German Derived from the Upper German word "holz," which means "forest." Thus many of the names that evolved from this root work have to do with living in the woods
HoornGerman (Austrian) From the Germanic word horn meaning "horn". This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river.
HörmannGerman The distinguished surname Hormann is of very ancient German origin. It is derived from a Germanic personal name made up of the elements "heri," meaning "army," and "man," meaning "man."
HorneckerGerman Habitational name denoting someone from any of various places called Horneck.
HorneyGerman (Anglicized) German: Eastphalian or Americanized form of a personal name composed of the Germanic elements hard ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’ + nit ‘battle fury’, ‘eagerness to fight’, or a habitational name from a place so called in Brandenburg or in the Rhineland... [more]
HosnerGerman Occupational name for a knitter of hose (garments for the legs), from the plural form of Middle High German hose + the agent suffix -er (see Hose 3).
HostetlerGerman The name itself comes from the word Hostet or Hochstatt meaning "high place". Thus Hostetler is someone living in a high place or on high ground.
HottmannGerman probably either from an ancient Germanic personal name formed with hut "protection helmet" (compare German hut "hat")... [more]
HotzGerman (Swiss), German, Hungarian 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".
HowaldGerman From any several places named, from the elements hoh "high" and wald "forest".
HowdyshellAmerican, German Americanized (i.e., Anglicized) form of the Swiss German Haudenschild, which originated as a nickname for a ferocious soldier, literally meaning "hack the shield" from Middle High German houwen "to chop or hack" (imperative houw) combined with den (accusative form of the definite article) and schilt "shield".
HrachGerman (Austrian, Rare), Czech (Rare) Originated in the Czech-speaking region of Bohemia in Austria, pre-1900. From Czech hrách, meaning "pea." Given either to a very short man or to a gardener.
HubenGerman The roots of the distinguished German surname Huben lie in the kingdom of Bavaria. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "huober," meaning "owner of a patch of farmland." The term "Hube" was used to denote a 40-acre hide of farmland... [more]
HübenthalGerman From either of two place names, derived from the older form Hufinadah meaning "valley where the hooves were".
HuffGerman From the Germanic personal name Hufo, a short form of a compound name formed with hug "heart, mind, spirit" as the first element.
HufnagelGerman Metonymic occupational name for a farrier from Middle High German hufnagel "horseshoe nail" (literally "hoof nail"). Derived from huof "hoof" and nagal "nail".
HurstGerman Topographic name from Middle High German hurst "woodland, thicket".
HusemannGerman Epithet for a servant or an administrator who worked at a great house, from Middle Low German hus ‘house’ (see House 1, Huse) + man ‘man’.
HustedGerman The name was originally spelled "Hustedt" and means "homestead." The family name originated in northern Germany. One branch of the family migrated to England, and a branch of that family to the United States.
HuthGerman From Middle High German huot "hat, cap, helmet", a name for someone who made or wore hats.
HütterGerman German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a hatter from an agent derivative of Middle High German huot ‘hat’; Yiddish hut, German Hut ‘hat’. German (Hütter): topographic name from Middle High German hütte ‘hut’... [more]
IlgenGerman Either a patryonimic from the given name Ilg or derived from the name of a district of the Steingaden municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Weilheim-Schongau.
IlgenfritzGerman Compound patronymic, meaning "Fritz, the son of Ilg".
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.
JeschkeGerman Germanized form of Czech and Slovakian Ješko and Polish Jeszka, pet forms of given names beginning with Ja- or Je- such as Jan 1 or Jarosław, as well as various cognates or similar-sounding names, such as Ježek ("hedgehog").
JeterFrench (Huguenot), German Jeter is a French and German surname. It is the last name of former New York Yankees baseball player, Derek Jeter. It's also the last name of Carmelita Jeter, an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 meter sprint.
JobEnglish, French, German, Hungarian English, French, German, and Hungarian from the personal name Iyov or Job, borne by a Biblical character, the central figure in the Book of Job, who was tormented by God and yet refused to forswear Him... [more]
JungbluthGerman Means "young blossom" in German, from German jung "young" and blüte "blossom, flower", possibly denoting a person who blossomed early in their life.
JüngerGerman, Jewish German (Jünger) distinguishing name, from Middle High German jünger ‘younger’, for the younger of two bearers of the same personal name, usually a son who bore the same name as his father... [more]
JungmannGerman Means "young man" from German Jung and Mann.
JungwirthGerman Distinguishing name from Middle High German jung "young" and wirt "husband master of the house" for a son or son-in-law... [more]
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.
KalkGerman, Dutch Occupational name for a lime burner from Middle High German kalc and Middle Dutch calk "lime" (both a loanword from Latin calx).
KalkbrennerGerman Occupational name for a lime burner from Middle High German kalc "chalk lime" and brenner "burner".
KallmeyerGerman from a Germanized form of Slavic kal "marshland bog" or from Middle High German Middle Low German kalc "lime" and Middle High German meier "tenant farmer" (see Meyer 1) hence a distinguishing nickname for a farmer whose farm lay on marshy land or near a lime pit.
KallweitGerman (East Prussian) East Prussian German (and thus heavily Lithuanian influenced) name meaning "smith; blacksmith; farrier", derived from Old Prussian kalt "to forge; to hammer" and Old Prussian kalweitis "the village smith".
KalpGerman, Jewish From Middle High German kalp ‘calf’, German Kalb, probably applied as a metonymic occupational name for someone who reared calves.
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.
KaltenbachGerman habitational name from any of various places with names meaning "(at the) cold stream" from Old High German kalt "cold" and bah "stream brook".
KalthoffGerman German (Westphalian): habitational name from a place named as 'the cold farm', from Middle High German kalt "cold" + hof "farmstead", "manor farm’, "court".
KammGerman, Estonian Means "comb" in German, an occupational name for a wool comber or fuller, or perhaps a maker of combs. In some cases it might have been used in the sense of "ridge of mountains, hills", making it a topographic name... [more]
KämmererGerman from Middle High German kamerære "chamberlain" (from kamere "chamber") a status name for the treasurer of a court monastery a great household or a city and in Switzerland for the manager of a church property a so-called Widem... [more]
KampGerman, Dutch, Danish From the Germanic element kamp "field", derived from Latin campus "open space, battlefield".
KämpfGerman, Jewish From middle high German kampf, German kamf "fight, struggle" an occupational name for a champion a professional fighter (see Kemp ) or a nickname for someone with a pugnacious temperament.
KandtGerman Probably from Middle High German kant meaning "jug" (from Latin olla cannata meaning "pot with one spout") and hence an occupational name for a maker or seller of jugs.
KapellerGerman, German (Austrian) Derived from Middle High German kappelle, kapelle "chapel", this name denoted someone who lived near a chapel.
KaplanGerman, Czech, Jewish Means "chaplain, curate" in German and Czech, ultimately from Latin cappellanus. It is also sometimes used as a Jewish name, from a translation of Hebrew כֹּהֵן (kohen) meaning "priest" (see Cohen).
KariFinnish, German (Austrian), Slovene (?), Hungarian, Indian, Marathi As a Finnish name, it is a topographic and ornamental name from kari "small island", "stony rapids", "sandbar", or "rocky place in a field". This name is found throughout Finland.... [more]
KärlinGerman German surname from the personal name Karl. Also an altered spelling of German Gerling.
KarlingGerman A habitational name from Karling in Bavaria.
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]
KasselGerman habitational name mainly from a place of this name in northeastern Hesse so named from Frankish castellacassela "fortification" a military term from Late Latin castellum "fortified position fort" or a topographic name from the same word.
KauGerman From Middle High German gehau "(mountain) clearing" hence a topographic name for a mountain dweller or possibly an occupational name for a logger.
KauGerman Topographic name for someone who lived by a mineshaft, from Middle High German kouw(e) "mining hut".
KaukGerman probably a variant of Kauke from Middle Low German koke "cake" (dialect kauke) hence a metonymic occupational name for a baker or confectioner or a nickname for a cake lover.
KausGerman From a regional (Hessian) variant of the habitational name Kues, from a place on the Mosel river, probably so named from Late Latin covis "field barn", "rack" and earlier recorded as Couese, Cobesa.
KauschGerman Pet name derived from the Old High German personal name Gozwin, of uncertain origin.
KauschGerman From a medieval form of the Old High German personal name Chuzo.
KautGerman Netonymic occupational name for a flax grower or dealer, from Middle High German kute, from Kaut(e) "male dove", hence a metonymic occupational name for the owner or keeper of a dovecote.
KautGerman Topographic name from the Franconian dialect word Kaut(e) "hollow", "pit", "den".
KautzGerman Nickname for a shy or strange person, from Middle High German kuz "screech owl".