This is a list of submitted surnames in which the usage is German; and the number of syllables is 3.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
AchenbachGerman Habitational name for a person from the tributaries named Achenbach in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, from Middle High German Ache "water" (derived from Latin aqua) and bach "brook, stream"... [more]
AllgeierGerman The 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]
AusländerGerman, Jewish Means "foreigner" in German, from Middle High German uzlender, denoting a person new to a district or a farmer who cultivated land outside a community's bounds.
BacharachGerman, Jewish Derived from Bacharach, a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. This surname was borne by the American composer and pianist Burt Bacharach (1928-2023).
BattenbergGerman Habitational name for a person from the small town named Battenberg in Hesse, from Old High German personal name Batto and berg "mountain, hill"... [more]
BauerdickGerman A 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]
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.
BontragerGerman Coming from the Old German, Bonträger or Bornträger, meaning 'water carrier'.
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]
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.
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).
DenningerGerman Habitational name for someone from Denning in Bavaria. Denning is related to Middle Low German denne meaning "wooded vale".
DexheimerGerman From the German village Dexheim (south of Mainz).
DillingerGerman Denoted a person from Dillingen, a district in the region of Swabia in Bavaria, Germany. This name was borne by the infamous John Dillinger (1903-1934), an American gangster and bank robber during the Great Depression.
EberlingGerman (Austrian) The surname Eberling was first found in Austria, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation... [more]
EffenbergGerman Possibly denoted a person coming from a place of this name in Germany, or for someone who lived on or near a mountain or hill covered with elm trees, derived from German effe meaning "elm" and berg meaning "mountain, hill"... [more]
EhrmantrautGerman A Latinized joining of the German words irmin(world, all-encompassing) and trud(strength)
EichenbergGerman Derived from Middle High German eih "oak" and berg "mountain hill" meaning "oak hill, oak mountain"; a topographic name for someone who lived on an oak-covered hillside or a habitational name from any of the places so named... [more]
EichenlaubGerman, Jewish Derived from Eichenlau, a topographic name from Middle High German eichen "oaks" and loh "forest clearing", reinterpreted through folk etymology as Eichenlaub, meaning "oak leaf".
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".
EngelhardtGerman Derived from the Germanic given name Engelhard, composed of German engel meaning "angel" and hard meaning "brave, hardy, strong".
FassbinderGerman Occupational name for a cooper, derived from German Fass "barrel, keg, cask" and Binder "girder, tie". Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) was a German filmmaker considered as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement.
FleischhackerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a butcher from German fleisch "flesh meat", and an agent derivative of hacken "to chop or cut".
FleischhauerGerman Occupational name for a butcher from Middle High German fleisch or vleisch "flesh meat" and an agent derivative of Middle High German houwen "to cut". Variant of Fleischauer.
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]
HeidelbergGerman, Jewish (Ashkenazi) Habitational name from any of the places called Heidelberg, of which the best-known example is in Bade.
HeisenbergGerman Made up of German words heis and berg, ultimately meaning “hot mountain.” This was the name of theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg and the alias of Walter White in Breaking Bad.
HillikerGerman The last name of Dance Moms star, Kalani Hilliker.
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".
HoneckerGerman Erich Honecker was the leader of the GDR from 1971 to 1989.
HörschelmannGerman This denotes familial origin in the former village of Hörschel (annexed to Eisenach in 1994).
HumperdinckGerman (?), Literature From the German surname Humperdinck. As a surname it was born by the composer Engelbert Humperdinck. As a first name it was used for the villain Prince Humperdinck in William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride.
KirchoferGerman German topographic name for someone living near a churchyard, or habitational name for the proprietor or tenant of a farm named as "Church Farm", from Middle High German kirche "church" + hof "farmstead", "manor farm".
KonzelmanGerman Orginating from Konrad, which is a variant of Conrad, meaning "brave counsel." The second half of the name indicates one who was a councilman or advisor to someone of importance or power.
KubitschekGerman Germanized form of Kubíček. This name was borne by Juscelino Kubitschek (1902-1976), the Brazilian president who founded the city of Brasília in 1960, replacing Rio de Janeiro as the capital city of Brazil... [more]
LinzmeyerGerman, Portuguese (Brazilian) Means "bailiff of Linz, Austria" in German, derived from Proto-Celtic *lentos (“bend”) and Middle High German meier meaning "bailiff, administrator", derived from Latin maior meaning "greater".... [more]
ObenaufGerman Surname used to refer to someone who lived 'up there' (on a mountain, hill, etc.).
OverathGerman From the name of the town of Overath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A famous bearer is the German former soccer player Wolfgang Overath (1943-).
PulitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Variant form of Politzer. A famous bearer was the Hungarian-American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). His family came from Hungary, but they were of Czech origin.
RabenschlagGerman Means "wing beat of a raven" in German, from German Rabe meaning "raven" and Schlag meaning "flap" or "wing beat" in this context.
ReichenbergGerman, Jewish Habitational name from various places named Reichenberg in several different areas of Germany. As an ornamental name, it is composed of German reich(en) meaning "rich" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
RittermanGerman From Middle High German riter meaning "rider, knight" and man literally meaning "man".
RudererGerman Occupational name meaning "Rower" in German.
SchmidtbergerGerman A distinguishing name for someone named Berger who worked as a blacksmith, or a habitational name for someone from any of several places called Schmidtberg in Bavaria and Switzerland.
SchweinsteigerGerman Occupational name for a pig farmer, an overseer of pigs or a nickname for someone who rode a pig, derived from Middle High German swīn meaning "hog, swine" and stīger meaning "foreman, mine inspector"... [more]
SeidenbergGerman, Jewish Derived from several places with the same name. As an ornamental name, it is derived from German seide meaning "silk" and berg meaning "mountain".
SteinmeierGerman Distinguishing name for a tenant farmer (Meyer) whose farm was on stony ground or was distinguished by a conspicuous rock formation (Middle High German stein 'rock').
ThorbeckeGerman Possibly from an unknown place name meaning either "at the brook" or "Thor's stream" in German. A noteworthy bearer was the Dutch liberal statesman and prime minister Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (1798-1872), whose family was of German origin; he is best known for almost single-handedly drafting the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands, which turned the country from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, during the Revolutions of 1848.
TiefenbrunnGerman Possibly a combination of the german word “Tiefe” meaning depths, and germanic brun, meaning armor, protection
TrachtenbergGerman, Jewish Could mean either mean "mountain of thoughts", from Yiddish trakhtn (טראַכטן) "to think" and berg "mountain" or "mountain of costumes", from German tracht "to wear, carry" and berg "mountain"... [more]
TrierweilerGerman Trierweiler is a German surname of Germanic and French roots, specifically associated with the town of Trier in Germany and its surrounding areas. The first part, "Trier," refers to the city of Trier, one of the oldest cities in Germany... [more]
WestendorfGerman A habitational surname that means 'West Village' in German.
WittgensteinGerman, Jewish Denoted one who came from the Wittgenstein castle in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, derived from Old High German witt meaning "white" and stein meaning "stone"... [more]