German surnames are family names that are commonly found in the Germanosphere, more specifically Germany proper, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the German-speaking part of Switzerland (referred to colloquially as Welschland), Liechtenstein, the Eupen-Malmedy region in Belgium, the European Collectivity of Alsace in France and communities with German descendants in Australia, North America, South America (especially the southern part of Brazil) and the former German colony of South-West Africa, today Namibia.
History of German surnames
Most peasant families in the German states took surnames somewhere between the 1300s and 1500s, which in most cases is earlier than the surviving records about the common people; until the 12th century, individuals were only given a first name. Most people lived in small villages with small populations, which means the chances of two people with the same name were slim. However, as populations increased, the multitude of people who shared the same first name became confusing. Similarly to what happened in the rest of Europe, surnames in Germany were first introduced in the Middle Ages. There, people began to differentiate between individuals who shared the same name using the Latin word dictus (“called”), or later, with the German genant (“called”), giheizen/heisset (“is called”), den man speeches (“of whom you speak”), den man nennt (“the one who you call”), and so on; for example, Cunradus dictus Faber, Heinricus dictus Kreier, bruder Egebreht dem man sprichet der Wolhuser (“brother Egebreht who is called the Wolhuser”), Hans Rot genannt Rotlieb, Heinrich bi dem Bach. However, these were not always passed down from parents to children; surnames became hereditary in the 19th century.
Surnames, known in German as Nachname or Familienname, are derived from nicknames. As mentioned earlier, Germans began to differentiate between people with the same name during the Middle Ages using the Latin word dictus (“called”), or later, with the German genant, giheizen/heisseti, etc.; however, hereditary surnames were only introduced in the 19th century. There are plenty of resources for researching German family names and plotting their distribution, many of which can be found among MyHeritage’s German historical records.
Phonetic equivalences
German is a language that was not standardized until 1901, when the Duden Handbook was declared the standard definition of the German language.[1] Among the consonants, the following letters can substitute for one another: B and P; C, G and K; D, T, and Th; and V and F. An interesting example of these equivalences is the surname “Chrädern.”, whose phonetic equivalent is “Gräter.”
When Germans emigrated to non-German-speaking countries like the USA, Canada, South Africa, or Australia, their surnames may have been misspelled by the registrar. This happened often in the case of surnames with an umlaut (two dots) over the vowels a, o, and u, which change the vowel sound significantly by representing former back vowels now pronounced as front vowels. For example, the German surname “Jäger” often became spelled (and therefore pronounced) as “Yeager.”
German surname conventions
While in Germany, the wife adopts her husband's Nachname upon marriage and drops her own. Exceptions can be found due to the legal equality of sexes under German law,[2] which can cause Herr Riebesehl and Frau (Mrs) Landrut, for example, to declare either surname as a "marriage name" (Ehename) or one partner may combine both names by a hyphen, called a double name (Doppelname). Their children, however, cannot use the Doppelname. If the parents decided to take an Ehename, this will be the Nachname of the child: children cannot be given a Doppelname unless it is the Ehename taken by the parents. Similar laws exist in Austria, Switzerland and Liechstenstein.
In Luxembourg, the law does not provide for the merger of names for men. However, the bride can add her husband's surname and maiden name to it. Children can have either the father's surname, mother's surname, or both surnames without hyphen.[3]
German surnames of patronymic origin
Given names often became family names when people were identified by their father's name. For instance, the first name Ahrend developed into the family name Ahrends by adding a genitive s-ending, as in Ahrend's son, for example:
- Degenhardt
- Leonhart
- Siegmund
- Volkmar
- Wolframz
Since many of the early city records were written in Latin, occasionally the Latin genitive singular -i was used such as in Jakobi or Philippi or with -y', as in Watty or Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Some of these names contain Medieval German words that are not used anymore, like:
- Beraht (bright, radiant)
- Hagen (fenced place)
- Wig (fight, struggle)
- Witu (wood)
In areas where Scandinavian cultural influence was noticeable, especially in the Baltic Coast regions, patronymic surnames were common. This pattern extended to East Friesland, near the border with the Netherlands.
German surnames derived from personal attributes
These surnames originate from the person's appearance or traits, like:
- Groß/Gross (large)
- Dick (fat)
- Klein (small)
- Lang (long)
- Schimmelpfennig (miser)
- Ritter (knight)
- Fink (fink)
- Fuchs (fox)
- Vogel (bird)
- Knobloch (garlic)
- Schwarzkopf (black head)
- Krause (curly)
German surnames of toponymic origin
German surnames with a geographical origin can be derived from the name of a city or village, often having the '-er' postfix like Bamberger, Kissinger, Adenauer, Schwarzenegger or Kohler; some simply use the name of the region or town, like Böhm, Bielfeld, Erfurt, Fischbeck or Oldenburg. Other toponyms are those derived from a building, a natural landmark, or a farm, just like in Scandinavia, like:
- Althaus (old house)
- Lachs (salmon)
- Birnbaum (pear tree)
- Dieffenbach (deep stream)
- Brückner (someone who lives near a bridge)
- Busch (bush)
- Holzer (someone who lives near a forest)
- Lindemann (linden tree man)
- Weidemann (willow man or pasture man)
- Kirchhof (land around a church)
- Angermann (meadow man)
Some others refer to ancient tribal affiliation, like Franke, Friese, Holländer, Preuß (Preuss), or Sachse.
A common mistake done by novel researchers is assuming that a village with a name identical to the surname being researched means this is the village of origin of their ancestors. It was common to take a "village" surname between the 1300–1500 period as a way of distinguishing them from others with the same given name. This means that “Karl Marburger” would have only taken the surname after leaving Marburg, but does not necessarily mean his family was originally from Marburg. In addition to that, some towns ceased to exist when they were merged into a new one with a different name, like Glanbrücken, a post-World War II creation that united the villages of Hachenbach and Niederreisenbach. The website Meyers Gazetteer contains a geographical dictionary of place names from the Second German Empire, many of which were merged into new towns or absorbed by others.
German surnames of noble origin
A subcategory of toponymic surnames is made up of those with the prepositions von ("of") or zu (meaning "at"), which were generally used to distinguish nobility. The von form indicates the family's place of origin, while the zu form indicates the family's continued possession of the estate from which the surname is drawn. For instance, if someone was the baron of the village of Buchholz, his family name would be von Buchholz. In modern times, people elevated to nobility often had a 'von' added to their name. For example, Johann Wolfgang Goethe had his name changed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This practice ended with the abolition of the monarchy in Germany and Austria in 1919. However, von is not always indicative of nobility. Sometimes this particle is also used in commoner toponymics, like von Däniken. The zu particle can also hint at the split of a dynasty, therefore providing information on the adopted new home of one split-off branch.
German surnames of occupational origin
The most common form of German surnames are those related to occupation. As a general rule, anybody who had an unusual job would have been bound to be identified by it, like:
- Bauer (“farmer”)
- Pflüger (“plowman”)
- Schäfer (“shepherd”)
- Jäger (“hunter”)
- Becker (“baker”)
- Koch (“cook”)
- Müller (“miller”)
- Schmied/Schmidt (“smith”)
- Stellmacher (“carriage maker”)
- Wagner (“wagon driver”)
- Gerber (“leather preparer”)
- Schuhmacher (“shoemaker”)
- Weber (“weaver”)
- Schneider (“tailor”)
- Zimmermann (“carpenter”)
- Kaufmann (“merchant”)
- Krüger (“innkeeper” or “merchant of glass and pottery”)
- Richter (legal official, from the word for “to make right”)
- Meier (“mayor”)
- Hofmann (“steward” or “estate manager”)
- Lehmann (“tennant” or “vassal”)
Names referring to nobility like Kaiser (emperor), König (king), Graf (count) are also common; however, the original name bearer was probably only a courtier or assistant to a monarch. If these surnames were changed after immigration, they might have been translated into English, such as the German occupational name “Schneider” becoming “Tailor.”
German surnames of foreign origin
German geography facilitated migration into the richer German Lands from other parts of Europe, a trend that was also encouraged by the authorities. Consequently, it is common to find surnames of Dutch, French, Italian, Hungarian, or Slavic origins. In most cases, the spelling was adapted to German language conventions, with the Serbocroat ending -ić becoming the German -itz or -itsch, the East Slavic -ov becoming -ow or -off, the Lithuanian -kis" becoming -ke and or the Dutch -link becoming -linck; perhaps the only exception were Huguenots settling in Germany, many of which retained their spelling, like Marquard, de Maizière and Thibaut.
Most common German surnames
| # | Surname | Etymology | Bearers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Müller | miller | 945,404 |
| 2 | Schmidt | smith | 711,024 |
| 3 | Schneider | tailor | 436,230 |
| 4 | Fischer | fisherman | 372,558 |
| 5 | Weber | weaver | 325,733 |
| 6 | Meyer | originally manorial landlord, later self-employed farmer | 323,771 |
| 7 | Wagner | wainwright | 298,283 |
| 8 | Becker | baker | 279,689 |
| 9 | Schulz | medieval mayor | 278,306 |
| 10 | Hofmann | steward or courtier | 275,089 |
Celebrities with German surnames
- Heidi Klum, German fashion model, television host, and businesswoman
- Arnold Aloïs Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American actor and politician
- Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
- Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian fashion model
Explore more about German surnames
- Last names on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Germany on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Austria on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Switzerland on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Luxembourg on MyHeritage
References
- ↑ 10 facts that help explain the German language
- ↑ Das Namensrecht – Doppelname, Geburtsname, Familienname. Familienrecht-Ratgeber
- ↑ Choosing a child's first name and surname. Guichet.lu