Many German names have their roots in the Germanic middle ages. The
process of forming family names began around the year 1100 and extended
through 1600. All social classes and demographic strata aided in the
development of names. First Names (Rufnamen) identified specific
persons. Over time the first name began to be applied to the bearer's
whole family. At first through verbal usage, family names
(Familiennamen) were later fixed through writing. Until the 17th
century, first names played a more important role. In East Friesland,
family names originated the latest.
The earliest family names derived from the first name of the first
bearer (Patronym). Later names derived from the place of dwelling and
location of the homestead. If a person of family migrated from one place
to another they were identified by the place they came from. Of more
recent origin are names derived from the vocation of profession of the
first bearer. These names comprise the largest group and the most easily
recognizable, for they tell what the first bearer did for a living.
Another group are names derived from a physical or other characteristic
of the first bearer. Finally, there are names which tell you the state
or region a first bearer and his family came from; the age old division
in tribes and regions (low German, middle German and upper German) is
often reflected in names. For non-German speakers they are at first hard
to "localize." Names from along the Dutch border, and some of the names
from Northern Germany, sound much like Dutch or English names,
respectively.
First Names
Old Germanic First Names (and their short forms) Masculine: Albert,
Albrecht, Armin, Arno, Benno, Bernd, Bernhard, Berthold, Bruno,
Burkhard, Daniel, Detlev, Dieter, Dietmar, Dirk, Eberhard, Edmund, Erik,
Ernst, Erwin, Ewald, Ferdinand, Frank, Freddi(y), Friedrich, Friedl,
Fritz, Gerhard, Gu(ü)nt(h)er, Hagen, Harald, Hartmut, Heiko, Heinrich,
Heinz, Helge, Helmut, Hendrik, Henning, Herbert, Hermann, Holger, Horst,
Hubert, Hugo, Ingo, Karl, Karl-Heinz, Konrad, Kurt, Lothar, Ludwig,
Lutz, Manfred, Meinhard, Olaf, Oskar, Otto, Rainer, Ralf, Reinhard,
Richard, Robert, Roland, Rolf, Rudolf, Rudi, Rüdiger, Siegfried, Sven,
Thorsten, Udo, Ulrich, Uwe, Volker, Volkmar, Walter, Wernher, Wilhelm,
Willi, Wolf, Wolfgang, Wulf Feminine: Adele, Astrid, Berta, Birgit,
Brigitte, Brunhilde, Carla, Carola, Carolin, Dagmar, Dora, Doris, Edith,
Elfrieda, Elisabeth, Elke, Elsa, Erika, Eva, Eva-Maria, Friedrike,
Friedl, Gertrud(e), Gisela, Gudrun, Hedwig, Heidi, heike, Helga, Helge,
Hilde, Hulda, Inge, Ingrid, Isolde, Liebgard, Mathilde, Mechthild,
Sieglinde, Sigrid, Ute, Walburga German first names and short forms
derived from biblical names, Latin, Greek or other
Masculine: Achim, Adrian, Alex, Ali, Alois, Andreas, Anton, August,
Axel, Benjamin, Bjorn, Christian, Christoph, Clemens, Dagobert, Daniel,
Emil, Eugen, Felix, Florian, Franz, Georg, Gustav, Hannes, Hans,
Hans-Jörg, Hans-Peter, Jakob, Jam, Jens, Joachim, Jochen, Jörg,
Johannes, Johann, Josef, Julian, Jürgen, Kai, Kai-Olaf, Karsten,
Klaus, Leopold, Leo, Lorenz, Lukas, Markus, Martin, Matthias,
Maximilian, Max, Michael, Moritz, Nikolaus, Paul, Peter, Philipp,
Sebastian, Sepp, Stefan, Theo, Thomas, Tobias, Viktor, Xaver Feminine:
Alexandra, Andrea, Angelika, Anna, Aneliese, Annemarie, Barbara,
Bärbel, Beate, Catharina, Charlotte, Christa, Christel, Christiane,
Christine, Cornelia, Daniela, Dor, Doris, Elisabeth, Elsa, Eva,
Eva-Marie, Franziska, Gabi, Gabrielle, Brete, Grete, Gretchen,
Hannelore, Helene, Ilse, Inge, Irene, Johanna, Julia, Juliana, Jutta,
Karin, Käthe, Kathrin, Krista, Laura, Lena, Liesl, Lieselotte, Lotte,
Luise, Margot, Maria, Marianne, Margarethe, Marike, Renate, Rita,
Rosamunde, Rosamarie, Ruth, Sabine, Sandra, Sara, Sofia, Stefanie,
Steffi, Susanne, Susi, Thea, Therese, Trixi, Ulla, Ulrike, Ursula,
Uschi, Valerie, Vera, Veronika
Family names derived from first name of first bearer: Albrecht
(Albright), Eberhard(t), Georg(e), Lorenz, Ott(o), Paul(us), Reinhard,
Thomas, Werner.
Dating back to the old Germanic world: Albrecht (Albright), Die(d)trich,
Gu(ü)nther, Hagen, Hildebrandt, Hillenbrand, Oswald, Siegfried
(Seyfried). Short forms: Dietrich-Dietz, Friedrich-Fritz, Konrad-Kunz
(Koons), Heinrich-Hinz, Ludwig-Lutz.
Names of saints: Benjamin, Daniel, Lukas, Matthias, Matthäus, Paulus,
Ruprecht, Nikolaus.
Names derived from the place of dwelling and location of the homestead:
Zumwald - at the forest; Kaltenbach - cold creek; Waldschmidt - smith
at/in the woods. Meer - from the sea, ocean; Borg (northern German) or
Burg - from or near a fortified castle; Bullwinkel - corner where bulls
are kept; Adler (zum Adler) - eagle, may have derived from a house name;
Rabe - crow.
The place a person came from: Battenberg (Mountbatten), Battenfeld;
Cullen from Koeln/Cologne; Dannenberg, town of Dannenberg - pine-tree
covered mountain, name of three places in Germany; Dresdner from
Dresden; Halpern or Halperin - one who came from Heilbronn in
Württemberg; Mel(t)zer - can be a brewer or a person who came from
Meltz; Berlin, Klutz and Lowenthal - place names in Germany; Silberg -
two place names in Germany; Stein - numerous villages in German-speaking
countries; stone, rock, marker; Sternberg - ten places in Germany;
Shapiro, Shapira, Shapero, Shapera - one from Spyer, in the middle ages
spelled Spira, and by Jews spelled Shapira; Pollack - one who came from
Poland; Frank - from Franconia; Rockower, Rockow - ow is frequent and
only in the low lands of Germany; Schlesinger - one who came from
Silesia or Schleusingen in Thuringia; Schwei(t)zer - person from
Switzerland, but also a dairyman.
Names derived from the vocation of profession of first bearer: Arzt -
doctor; Bader - barber; Bauer - farmer; Bauman(n) - builder; Becker -
baker; Brenner - distiller; Brauer, Breuer - brewer, brower, brewster;
Eisenhauer, Eisenhower - iron cutter, miner; Fa(e)rber - dyemaker,
painter; Fischer - fisher; Fleischer - butcher; Gebauer - peasant or
tiller of the field; Gerber - tanner; Kaiser - Emperor; Kellerman -
worker or dweller in a wine cellar or tavern; Kessler - coppersmith, one
who sold or made cettles; Kramer - merchant; Kreisler, Kreusler - from
curly, also spinning top; Krieg, Krieger - war, warrior, in Yiddish
could mean tavern keeper; Ku(e)ster - sexton, Ku(e)nstler - artist or
skilled artisan; Lederer, Lederman(n) - leather maker, tanner; Lehrer -
teacher; Lesser - custodian of a forest, game keeper; Lichtermann - one
who lit lamps, lamplighter; Lichtman - candle maker; Maurer - stone
mason; Mehler (Mahler) - painter; Mehlinger, Mehlman(n), Melman - one
who works with flour; Metzger - butcher; Mu(e)ller - miller; Nachtman(n)
- night watchman; Pfannenschmidt - maker of pots and pans; Postman(n) -
postal worker, (also a person from Postau); Puttkam(m)er - person who
cleans rooms; Rader - wheelwright, one who makes wheels; or a person
from Raden (moor, reedy place), one who thatched with reed; Reifsneider,
Reifsnyder - one who made barrel hops; Reiter - horseman, also one who
cleared land for tilling; Richter - judge or magistrate; Saltz,
Saltzman(n) - one who processed and sold salt; Sandler - one who carts
sand, repairs shoes, a cobbler; Scha(e)fer, Schaf, Schaap - shepherd;
Schaffer, Shaffer - administrator; Schenker - one who kept a public
house; Scherer - one who shaved others, a barber; Schlosser - locksmith;
Schlu(e)ter - the keeper of supplies; Schmidt - smith; Schmuker,
Schmu(c)kler - one who decorates, ornaments; Schneider and Schroeder -
tailor; Schultz, Schultheis - village mayor; Schreiber - secretary or
scribe; Schreiner - cabinet maker; Schubert - one who made or sold
shoes; Schulman(n) - school or synagogue man; Schumacher, Schu(h)man(n),
Schuster - shoe maker, cobbler; Steinhauer - one who cuts and breaks
stone; Studebaker - one who prepared or sold pastries; Wagner - wagoner,
wagon maker; Weber - weaver; Wechsler - money changer. Names derived
from a physical or ther characteristic of first bearer: Altmann - old
man; Hellmann - light man; Dick - fat person; Klein - short; Lange - the
long one; Kurz - the short one; Lustig - happy person; Grossmann - the
big one; Rot(h)bart - red beard; Weiss - white appearance; Schwar(t)z -
black appearance; Schwarzkopf - black haired; Sus(s)man - affectionate
person; Unruh - agitator or trouble maker; Schatz - treasure; Stamm,
Stump - trunk (as of a tree); Stammler - stutterer; Stock - stick, tree
trunk.
After days of the week: Montag, Freitag, Sonntag; or Month: May.
Relating to objects/materials: Hammer - hammer; Nagel - nail; Knopf -
button; Stahl - steel; Eisen - iron; Erzberger - ore mountain; Gold -
gold; Silber - silver; Baum - tree; Holz - wood; Stroh - straw; Keller -
cellar, food storage space.
Names which tell you the state or region a first bearer and his family
came from: Schwab, Hess(e), Bayer, Preuss, Sachs, Frank(e), Fries
Regional differences: Diminutives (-chen, -lein, -lin) can indicate a
regional origin. Examples: Buechlein, Boeglin. Allemanic (Switzerland,
Alsace, Baden) endings in -li; Swabian: -le; Bavaria/Austrian: -erl;
North German: -gen, -ken. Schleswig-Holstein and Friesland share the
North-European tradition of adding -sen or -so(h)n to the father's name:
Hansen, Claussen, Petersen, Petersohn, Jacobsohn, T(h)omsen.
Where immigration from the northeastern provinces of Mecklenburg and
Pomerania was strong, we find names ending in -ow (but note that Polish
and Russian have that ending too).
For meanings see Hans Bahlow Dictionary of German Names and George F.
Jones German-American Names