Find Out What That German Last Name Means

If you wonder what your German last name means in English, here's a comprehensive guide.

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.

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 and 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 was known as "Kaiser Franz."
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

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.
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 held that office for a record length of time (1982-1998).
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 adviser)

L L L
Lang	long
Famous Name: Austrian film director Fritz Lang (1890-1976) produced the silent film classic "Metropolis" (1927) in Germany and later went to Hollywood.
Lehmann/Lemann	serf, fief man
Lehrer	teacher
Loewe/Lowe	lion
Famous Name: Vienna-born composer Frederick "Fritz" Loewe (1901-1988) was part of the musical team of Lerner and Loewe, famous for a series of popular Broadway musicals and films ("Brigadoon," "Camelot," "My Fair Lady," "Gigi").
Luft	air
M M M
Mahler/Mehler	grinder, miller
Maier/Meier/Meyer	dairy farmer; landowner
Mauer/Maur	wall
Famous Name: The family of Canadian-born rock singer Melissa Auf der Maur comes from Switzerland.
Maurer	mason
Meister	master
Metzger	butcher
Meier/Meyer/Maier	dairy farmer; landowner
Mueller/Muller	miller
Moench/Muench	monk
N N N
Nacht	night
Nadel	needle
Nagel	nail
Naumann/Neumann	new man
Neudorf/Neustadt	new town (Newton)
Nussbaum	nut tree
O O O
Oster	east, Easter
Osterhagen	east grove, hedge
Ostermann	eastern man

P P P
Pabst/Papst	pope
Pfaff	cleric, parson
Pfeffer	pepper
Pfeifer/Pfeiffer	piper
Probst/Propst	provost
R R R
Reinhard(t)	determined
Reiniger	cleaner, cleanser, purifier
Richter	judge
Ritter	knight
Roth	red
Rothschild	red shield
Rothstein	red stone
S S S
Saenger/Sanger	singer
Sankt	saint
Schäfer/Schaefer	shepherd
Scherer	shearer, barber
Schiffer	boatman
Schmidt/Schmitt	smith
Schneider	tailor
Scholz/Schulze	mayor
Schreiber	scribe, scribner, writer
Schreiner	joiner, cabinet maker
Schroeder/Schroder	drayman, cart pusher (Carter)
Schuhmacher	shoemaker
Schultheiss/Schultz	debt broker; mayor
Schulz/Schulze/Scholz	mayor
Schuster/Shuster	cobbler, shoemaker
Schwab	Swabian, from Swabia
Schwartz/Schwarz	black
Schweitzer/Schweizer	Swiss; dairy man
Seiler	roper
Famous Name: Here are two Seilers: Austrian ski champ and gold medal winner Tony Seiler (in the 1950s and '60s) and Swiss auto racing driver Toni Seiler.
Sommer	summer
Strauss	bouquet
T T T
Thalberg	valley (and) mountain
Theiss/Theissen	form of Matthias
Traugott	trust in God
Trommler	drummer
U U U
Unger	Hungarian
Urner	of Uri (Swiss canton)
V V V
Vogel	bird
Vogler	fowler, bird man
Vogt	steward
von	of (indicates nobility)
W W W
Waechter	warden, watchman
Wagner	wagoner, wainwright
Wannemaker	basket maker
Weber	weaver
Wechsler/Wexler	money changer
Weiss/Weisz	white/wheat
Famous Name: Escape artist Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was born Ehrich Weiss (Weiß) in Budapest.
Weissmuller	wheat miller
Famous Name: Actor and Olympic swimming champ Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) is considered the best movie "Tarzan" of all time.
Werfel/Wurfel	die (dice), cube
Winkel	corner, angle
Wirth/Wirtz	innkeeper, landlord
Wolf/Wulf	wolf
Wurfel/Werfel	die (dice), cube
Famous Name: The Austrian (1890-1945) was a novelist ("The Song of Bernadette") and poet who had a brief Hollywood career during his California exile years.
Z Z Z
Ziegler	brick or tilemaker
Zimmer	room; short for "carpenter" (below)
Famous Name: Hollywood film music composer Hans Zimmer received an Oscar for his "Lion King" score.
Zimmermann/Zimmerman	carpenter
Famous Name: Did you know that Bob Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman, or that Ethel Merman's real name was Ethel Zimmerman?
Zweig	twig, branch

German Last Names and Their English Meanings

Marlene Dietrich translates to Marlene skeleton key (and other fun equivalents)

A A A

B B B

D D D

E E E

F F F

G G G

H H H

J J J

K K K

L L L

M M M

N N N

O O O

P P P

R R R

S S S

T T T

U U U

V V V

W W W

Z Z Z

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