Germanic Surname Lexikon
German Last Names with English Meanings
Introduction
For each Germanic surname in this glossary we have provided the English meaning, which may or may not be a surname in English. This is not a list of equivalent names, but rather a sampling of English translations or meanings of German names. In many cases, there may be several possible origins or translations for a surname. The translation shown for a surname may not be the only possibility. Some names are derived from Old German and may have a different meaning from that in modern German. Name research is not always an exact science. - Also see: Top 50 German Surnames and What's in a (German) Name?.
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Abbreviations: OHG (Old High German, Althochdeutsch)
| Germanic Last Names (A-K) With English Meanings |
|
| Nachname Last Name | English Meaning |
| A A A | |
| Aachen / Achen | Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle (German city) |
| Abend / Abendroth | evening/dusk |
| Abt | abbott |
| Ackerman(n) | farmer |
| Adler | eagle |
| Amsel | blackbird |
| Austerlitz | from the town & battle (1805) |
| Famous Name: Dancer and actor Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was Austrian-born Fritz Austerlitz. | |
| B B B | |
| Bach | brook |
| Bachmeier | farmer by the brook |
| Bader / Baader | bath, spa keeper |
| Baecker / Becker | baker |
| Baer / Bar | bear |
| Barth | beard |
| Bauer | farmer, peasant |
| Baum | tree |
| Baumgaertner / Baumgartner Bumgarner |
tree nursery man |
| Famous Name: The real name of actor James Garner is James Scott Bumgarner. | |
| Bayer / Baier / Beyer | Bavarian |
| Beckenbauer | basin/bowl maker |
| Famous Name: Bavarian soccer (Fußball) champ Franz Beckenbauer (1945- ) was known as "Kaiser Franz"! Web > Franz Beckenbauer - Hall of Fame |
|
| Beich / Beike | slope (OHG) |
| Berg | mountain |
| Bergmann | miner |
| Bieber | beaver (industrious) |
| Biermann | beer man (brewer) |
| Blau | blue |
| Boehm / Bohm | of Bohemia |
| Brandt | fire, land cleared by fire |
| Brauer | brewer |
| Braun | brown |
| Bürger / Burger | townsman, citizen |
| Busch / Bosch | bush |
| D D D | |
| Daecher / Decker | roofer, tyler |
| Diederich / Dietrich | skeleton key; ruler (OHG) |
| Famous Name: Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich was a legend in her time.< | |
| Drechsler/Dreher | turner |
| Dresdner / Dresner | of Dresden |
| Drescher | thresher |
| Duerr / Durr | dry, thin, drought |
| ALSO SEE: German Last Names and What's in a (German) Name? for more about German family names. For the new Duden FAMILIENNAMEN book with the origin and meaning of 20,000 German names see our Books: German Names. | |
| E E E | |
| Ebersbach / Ebersbacher | boar brook |
| Eberhardt / Eberhart | strong as a boar |
| Eichel | acorn, oak |
| Eichelberger | of the oak hill |
| Eichmann | oak man |
| Ehrlichmann | honest man |
| Eiffel | German mountain range |
| Eisenberg | iron mountain |
| Eisenhauer (Eisenhower) | iron hewer, miner |
| Egger / Eggers | harrow, plow man |
| Engel | angel |
| F F F | |
| Faber | smith (Latin) |
| Faerber / Farber | dyer |
| Fassbinder | cooper |
| Faust | fist |
| Feierabend | time off, non-work hours |
| Fenstermacher | window maker |
| Fiedler | fiddler |
| Fink / Finkel | finch |
| Fischer / Fisher | fisher, fisherman |
| Fleischer | butcher |
| Foerster | forester |
| Frankfurter | of Frankfurt |
| Frei / Frey | free (man) |
| Freitag / Freytag | Friday |
| Freud | joy |
| Fried | peace |
| Friedmann / Friedman | peace man, peacemaker |
| Frueh / Freeh | early (riser) |
| Fruehauf | up early |
| Fuchs | fox |
| Fuerst / Furst | prince |
| Fuhrmann | carter, driver |
| G G G | |
| Gaertner / Gärtner | gardener |
| Gerber | tanner |
| Famous Name: Actress and singer Mitzi Gaynor ("South Pacific") was born Francesca Marlene von Gerber in Chicago in 1931. | |
| Gerste / Gersten | barley |
| Gloeckner / Glockner | bell man |
| Goldschmidt | gold smith |
| Gottlieb | God's love |
| Gottschalk | God's servant |
| Gruenewald / Grunewald / Grunwald | green forest |
| H H H | |
| Hahn | rooster |
| Herrmann / Herman | warrior, soldier |
| Hertz / Herz | heart |
| Hertzog / Herzog | duke |
| Himmel (-reich) | heaven |
| Hirsch | buck, deer |
| Hoch | high, tall |
| Hoffmann / Hofmann | landed farmer |
| Holtzmann / Holzman | woodsman |
| Hueber / Huber / Hoover | land owner |
| J J J | |
| Jaeger / Jager | hunter, huntsman |
| Jung | young |
| Junker | nobleman, squire |
| K K K | |
| Kaiser | emperor |
| Kalb | calf |
| Kaestner / Kastner | cabinet maker |
| Kappel | chapel |
| Kaufmann | merchant |
| Keller | cellar |
| Famous Name: Deafblind Helen Keller (1880-1968), who became a role model for millions of people. Web > Helen Keller - TIME 100 |
|
| Kirsch | cherry |
| Klein | short, small |
| Klug / Kluge | smart, clever |
| Koch | cook |
| Kohl / Cole | cabbage (seller, grower of cabbage) |
| Famous Name: Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl (1930- ) held that office for a record length of time (1982-1998). Web > Helmut Kohl - Wikipedia |
|
| Kohler / Koehler | charcoal-maker |
| Koenig / Konig | king |
| Krause | curly haired |
| Krueger / Kruger | potter, maker of jugs |
| Kuefer | cooper |
| Kuester / Kuster | sexton |
| Kuhn / Kunze | councilman; brave, smart |
| Koertig / Kortig | from Konrad (brave advisor) |
| NEXT > Surname Lexikon L-Z - ALSO SEE: German Last Names and What's in a (German) Name? for more about German family names. For the Duden FAMILIENNAMEN book with the origin and meaning of 20,000 German names see our Books: German Names. | |
NEXT > Surname Lexikon L-Z
MORE > Top 50 German Surnames
MORE > Famous Germans, Austrians, Swiss
You are here:
Genealogy Contents > Surnames Article > Lexikon 1 > Lexikon 2
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