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Genealogy Contents > German Surnames Glossary A-B >
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German Surname Glossary: Introduction
For each Germanic surname in this glossary you will find the English meaning(s), which may or may not be a surname in English. This is not a list of equivalent names or name origins, but a sampling of English translations or meanings of German surnames. 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.
Abbreviations Used: MHG (Middle High German, Mittelhochdeutsch), MLG (Middle Low German, Mittelniederdeutsch), LG (Low German, Niederdeutsch), OHG (Old High German, Althochdeutsch), N. Ger. (northern Germany), S. Ger. (southern Germany)
GERMAN LAST NAMES • NACHNAMEN (A-B)
with English Meanings |
| Nachname (Surname) |
English Meaning |
| A A A A |
| Aachen, Achen |
Aachen/Aix-la-Chapelle (German city) |
| Achter |
appraiser, assessor; situation name: person who was on a board with eight (acht) members; a person from a town named Acht. |
| Achterberg, Achtermann, Achtermeier (MLG, achter, behind) |
from "behind" or "back of" (Achterberg = back of / behind the mountain) |
| Abbt, Abt |
abbott |
| Abel, Abele |
from Albrecht (Albert) |
| Abend |
evening, dusk; from the west |
| Abendrot, Abendroth |
evening/dusk; from the west |
| Ackerman, Ackermann |
tenant farmer, farmer who did not own his own land |
| Adenauer |
from the town of Adenau (also see "Au" below) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967). See Konrad Adenauer at The German Way. |
| Ader |
(see below) |
| The German name Ader (vein, blood vessel) is a good example of why name origins are not always easy to determine. This one name has at least three origins/meanings: (1) blood-letter (Aderlasser), (2) crossbow maker/shooter (from MHG), or (3) from the Austrian town of Ader (Oberösterreich, Upper Austria). |
| Adler |
eagle |
| Amsel |
blackbird |
| Astor |
hawk (from Italian/Latin astore) |
| Au, Aue, Auer |
from MHG ouwe (water, stream; island; meadowland) |
| Au(e) is the most common place name in all the German-speaking countries. The surname can also mean a person from one of those many towns. |
| Auerbach |
meadow brook; from Auerbach |
| Austerlitz |
place name: from the town and battle (1805) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Dancer and actor Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was Austrian-born Fritz Austerlitz. |
| B B B B |
| Bach, Bachl, Bachle |
brook, little brook |
| Bachmann |
brook man, man from the brook |
| Bachmayer, Bachmeier, Bachmeyer |
dairyman/farmer by the brook |
| Bader, Baader |
bath, spa keeper |
| Baecker, Becker* |
baker* |
*Note: The surname suffix -beck, found in names like "Steinbeck," is actually a southern German form of Bach (brook). |
| Baedeker, Bädeker |
(see "Boedecker" below) |
| Baer, Bar |
bear |
| Barth |
beard |
| Bauer |
farmer, peasant |
| Baum |
tree |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Austrian-American writer Vicki Baum (Hedwig Baum, 1888-1960) who also worked in Hollywood (WWW). |
| Baumgaertner, Baumgartner, Bumgarner |
tree nursery man |
| FAMOUS PERSON: The real name of actor James Garner is James Scott Bumgarner. |
| Bayer, Baier, Beyer |
Bavarian, person from Bavaria |
| Beck, Becke |
baker |
| Beckenbauer |
basin/bowl maker* |
FAMOUS PERSON: Bavarian soccer (Fußball) champ Franz Beckenbauer (1945- ) was known as "Kaiser Franz"!
Web > Franz Beckenbauer - Hall of Fame
*The true origin of the name may be a farmer (Bauer) who was also a baker (Becker). |
| Becker |
baker (also see "Baecker" above) |
| Beich, Beike |
slope (OHG) |
| Benesch, Bönesch |
derived from Sorbian or Czech for Benedict |
| Berg |
mountain |
| Berger |
mountain person; sheep herder (from French) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Austrian film actress Senta Berger who worked in Hollywood (WWW). |
| Bergmann |
miner |
| Bieber |
beaver (industrious) |
| Biermann |
beer man (brewer) |
| Blau |
blue |
| Bode, Boden |
messenger (Bote); cottage, workshop (Bude); from a town of that name: Bode(n) |
| Bodenbender, Bodenbinder |
cooper, barrelmaker (from MLG boden, barrel) |
Boedecker, Bödecker,
Böttcher |
cooper, barrelmaker (from MLG bodeker, bodiker); also see "Fassbinder" |
| Boehm, Bohm |
of/from Bohemia |
| Bogel, Boegel |
(N. Ger.) sb who makes metal parts: clamp, latch, ring, stirrup (from MLG bogel); (S. Ger.) archer, bowman |
| Boger, Bogler, Bogner |
archer, bow maker, bowman |
| Bohn, Bohne, Bohnen, Bohnenmann |
bean(s) |
| Brahm(s) |
from MLG bram or MHG brame, blackberry, bramble; a short form of Abraham |
| Brandt |
fire, land cleared by fire |
| Brandau, Brandauer |
from Brandau, a common German place name |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer (1944- ) - Never Say Never Again, Out of Africa, The Russia House. |
| Brauer |
brewer |
| Braun |
brown |
| Brecht, Brechtel |
shortened form of the name Albrecht or other -brecht given names: Berchthold, Engelbrecht, Lamprecht, Rup(p)recht (all based on OHG beraht, gleaming, glorious, splendid, shining) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: German author, playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) - Die Dreigroschenoper, Leben des Galilei, Geschichte vom Herrn Keuner. |
| Bremer, Bremner, Brehmer |
from Bremen |
| Bruck, Brucke, Brücke, Brueckl, Bruckner, Brueckner |
bridge, place of the bridge |
| Buch, Bucher, Bücher, Buchs |
beech tree, beech forest |
| Buchholz |
beechwood (common place name) |
| Buchsbaum |
beech tree; a place name |
| Bürger, Burger |
townsman, citizen |
| Busch, Bosch |
bush, forest |
| Buss |
short form of Burkhard; "kiss" in modern German |
| SOURCES: Kohlheim, Volker and Rosa (Eds.), Familiennamen: Herkunft und Bedeutung, F.A. Brockhaus (Duden), 2005; Naumann, Horst (Ed.), Das große Buch der Familiennamen: Alter, Herkunft, Bedeutung, Bassermann, 2007; Udolph, Jürgen and Fitzek, Sebastian, Professor Udolphs Buch der Namen: Woher sie kommen, was sie bedeuten, Goldmann, 2007. |
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