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Genealogy Contents > German Surnames Glossary: A-B >
C-D-E > F-G-H > More soon!
German Surname Glossary: C-D-E
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 (C-D-E)
with English Meanings |
| Nachname (Surname) |
English Meaning |
| C C C C |
| Campe, Campen, Kampe, Kampen |
place name; warrior (Kämpfer) |
| Camphausen |
of/from Kamphaus (Lower Saxony) or Kamphausen (North Rhine-Westphalia) |
| Canetti |
from Italian for "small dog" |
| FAMOUS PERSON: The ancestors of Austrian writer Elias Canetti received their surname during a stay in Italy when they fled Spain (as Shepardic Jews) and later settled in Austria. See Famous German, Austrians at The German Way. |
| Canter, Canther, Cantor, Kanter |
from Latin for choirmaster, singer |
| Cappel, Kappel |
Name of residence: Someone who lived in the chapel (Kapelle); or a place name: someone from a town named Cappel/Kappel or similar. |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Doris Day's real surname was Kappelhoff ("chapel courtyard"). All of her grandparents, maternal (Welz) and paternal, were of German heritage. See Famous German, Austrians at The German Way. |
| Carsten, Carstens |
(see "Christian" below) |
| Cäsar, Caesar |
Latinized form of Kaiser (emperor); or related to the given name Caesarius from the Middle Ages, for St. Caesarius of Terracina. |
| Christian, Christians, Christiansen |
from Christ (Christian) and Christus (Christ) |
| NOTE: Many German first and last names have a C/K variation. All of the following names are related and based originally on forms of Christ: Carsten/Karsten, Christmann, Christner, Kersten, Kersting, Kesten, Krist, Kristan. |
| Claas, Claasen, Claass, Claassen |
a form of Nikolaus (Nicholas) |
| Clemens, Clement, Clemenz |
from the Latin for merciful (or "clemency") |
| Cranach |
of/from Kronach (Upper Franconia) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Lucas Cranach the Elder (Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1472-1553), the German Renaissance painter and printmaker/engraver, was born Lucas Maler ("painter") at Kronach in Upper Franconia. He later took the name of his birthplace as his surname. |
| Cremer |
shopkeeper, grocer; see "Kramer" |
| D D D D |
| Dabrowski |
from a Polish city starting with Dabrow- |
| Dacher, Daecher, Decker |
roofer, tiler, tyler; place name |
| Dahl |
valley, Thal; place name (in the valley) |
| Dahm, Dahme, Dahmen |
place name; short form of names with "Adam" |
| Daimler, Däumler |
occupational name: from MHG diumen, diumeln, to torture (with thumbscrews) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: The ancestors of automobile inventor Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (1834-1900, orig. "Däumler") were well-known thumbscrew torturers Teimbler, Teumler (after 1540) in Thuringia. |
| Damm, Damme |
embankment; causeway (place name) |
| Daries, Darius, Darjes |
from the Greek diety Isidor ("gift of the godess Isis"); other forms of the name include Dörrie, Dorries and Dörries. |
| FAMOUS PERSON: German film director Doris Dörrie (1955- ) - Men (1985), Enlightenment Guaranteed (2000), Naked (2002), Cherry Blossoms (Kirschblüten - Hanami (2008) |
| Dichter |
from MHG diehter (grandchild); more rarely, from MHG tihter (writer) - The modern meaning (poet) did not come into use until the 18th century. |
| Diebald, Diebold |
from OHG thiot (people, nation) + bald (bold); this name has many spelling variations: Debald, Dewald, Debelt, Debold, Diebel, Dippel, etc. |
| Dies, Diesel |
derived from the sound of a shortened form of the first name Matthias; variation of names containing "Diet-" (such as Dietrich); rarely, from the town of Dies in Rhineland-Palatinate |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) - German inventor of the engine named for him. |
| Diederich, Dietrich |
skeleton key; ruler (OHG); this name has many variations: Dieterich, Diederich, Diederichs, Dittrich, Dederichs |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich was a legend in her time. See Marlene Dietrich - German-Hollywood Connection |
| Dietmar, Ditters, Dittert, Dittmaier |
all based on OHG thiot (people, nation) + mari (famous); also see Diederich above |
| Dietz, Dietze, Dietzmann |
derived from the diminutive/familiar form of names containing "Diet-" (such as Dietrich); rarely, from the town of Diez in Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Dill, Diller |
occupational name: from MHG dille (board > "carpenter"); place name: Dille, Dill (river) |
| Dilling, Dillinger |
place name: Dillingen, Tüllingen |
| Dillmann, Dillschneider |
see Dill above |
| Ding, Dinger |
thing; judge (MLG dinger) |
| Dombrowski, Dombrowsky |
from a Polish city starting with Dabrow- |
| Doppler |
from MHG topelöre (dice player) and topeln (to throw dice) |
FAMOUS PERSON: The Austrian scientist Christian Doppler (1803-1853) who discovered the "Doppler effect."
WEB >: Christian Doppler - Wikipedia |
| Dorn |
thorn |
| Dörrie, Dorries, Dörries |
see "Daries" above |
| Drechsler, Dreher |
turner |
| Dreifuss |
tripod; place name (from Latin for Trier, Germany's oldest city) |
| Dresdner, Dresner |
place name: "of Dresden" |
| Drescher |
thresher |
| Duerr, Durr |
dry, thin, drought |
| Durer, Dürer |
place name: from Düren, a town name in Bavaria and several other regions of Germany; a variation of "Thürer" (doormaker), "T(h)ür" (door) or "T(h)urm" (tower) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) - German painter, artist from Nuremberg. The name "Dürer" is derived from the Hungarian "Ajtósi". Originally it was "Thürer," or doormaker ("ajtós" in Hungarian). A door is featured in the family coat-of-arms. Albrecht Dürer the Younger later changed "Türer" to "Dürer", to adapt to the local Nuremberg dialect. |
| Duscha, Duschek, Duschke |
from the Czech for "spirit" + "fame" or a variation of duch (spirit) |
| Dutschke |
from the Sorbian word dučh (the German) |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Rudi Dutschke (Alfred Willi Rudi Dutschke, 1940-1979), the most prominent spokesperson of the German student movement of the 1960s. In 1968, Dutschke survived an assassination attempt that led to street riots and protests against the newspapers published by the Axel Springer media empire. |
| E E E E |
| Ebbe, Ebben, Ebbing |
from the LG for Eberhardt (see below) |
| Eben, Ebener, Ebner |
place name ("flat, even"): from the flat land/valley; person from a town named Eben |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916), Austrian writer. In 1900 she received the first honorary doctorate ever granted a woman by the University of Vienna. Ebner-Eschenbach, who trained as a watchmaker, authored many clever aphorisms, including "even a stopped clock is right twice a day." |
| Eberhard, Eberhardt, Eberhart |
strong as a boar |
| Ebersbach, Ebersbacher |
boar brook; place name |
| Ebert, Eberth |
from LG for Eberhard (see above) |
| FAMOUS PERSONS: Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925) - First president (SPD) of Germany after WWI (1918-1925, Weimar Republic); Roger Ebert (1942- ) - Well-known American film critic (with German paternal grandparents). |
| Echter, Echtermann |
form of Achter/Ächter; place name (Echt, Echte); place name from MLG for "behind" (mod. Ger. echt = real, genuine) |
| Eck, Ecke, Ecker |
lit., "corner" - short form of names beginning with Eck-; place name; |
| Eckel, Eckeler, Eckelmann |
from diminutive form of Eckhard; rarer: place name (Eckel) |
| Eger, Egerer, Egermann |
place name (town or river); occupation name (from eggen, to harrow/plow) |
| Egger, Eggers |
short form of Eggert or Eckhard; also see Eger above |
| Egloff (Egolf, Egli) |
from a combination of OHG agil + wolf (Agilolf/Egilolf, "horrible wolf"); place name |
| Ehrlich |
from MHG ērlich (honest, honorable) |
| Ehrlichman, Ehrlichmann |
honest or honorable man |
| FAMOUS PERSON: John Ehrlichman (1925-1999) was a key figure in the Watergate break-in (1972) and the ensuing scandal during the Nixon administration. He spent 18 months in federal prison. |
| Ehrmann |
honored man |
| Eichel |
acorn, oak |
| Eichelberger |
place name: of the oak hill |
| Eich |
oak tree (place name) |
| Eichmann |
oak man (place name) |
| Eiffel |
place name: German mountain range, region |
| Eisenberg |
iron mountain |
| Eisenman, Eisenmann |
occupational name: iron monger, hardware dealer |
| Eisler, Eisner |
occupational name: iron monger, hardware dealer |
| Eitel |
from the old MHG first name îtel = pure, unadulterated (NOT the modern meaning of "vain') |
| Eitner |
from Eite, a derivation of family names based on the first name Agathe; occupational name: MHG eiten, to burn, heat, melt |
| Egger, Eggers |
harrow, plow man |
| Elsässer |
place name: from the Alsace region (now part of France) |
| Elsner |
place name: from Elsen; variations: Elzner, Oelschner, Ölsner, Elschner |
| Emmerich |
derived from Heinrich (Henry); also a place name |
| End, Ende |
Place name: Someone who lived at the end of the village or street |
| FAMOUS PERSON: Michael Ende (1929-1995), Bavarian author of The Neverending Story (Die unendliche Geschichte, 1979), Momo (1973) and other children's stories. |
| Ender, Enderle, Enderlein, Enders |
Surnames derived from the name Andreas (Andrew). |
| Engel, Engelbert, Engelmann, Engelmayer, Engelmeier, Engelmeyer, Engels |
Angel: Names derived from a characteristic (nice as an angel) or given names that begin with Engel- (Engelbert, Engelhard, Engelheid, etc.). Sometimes also a person associated with an inn or pub named "zum Engel." |
| Erhard, Erhardt |
Based on the old Germanic first name (OHG ēra + harti = honor, fame + hard). The name was spread by the popularity of Saint Erhard in the late Middle Ages, and has many spelling variations today: Earhart, Ehrhardt, Ehrhart, Ehrat, Ehrath, Ehret, Ehrt, Ehrle, etc. |
| FAMOUS PERSONS: Ludwig Erhard (1897-1977), West German chancellor (CDU) from 1963 until 1966. Also the finance minister under Konrad Adenauer, noted for making the CDU's "social market economy" a success. - Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), American aviation pioneer. |
| Esch, Esche |
Place name: Either "ash tree" or from MHG esch (cornfield, grainfield). Also a person from a town named Esch/Esche. Also see Eschemann below. |
| Eschemann |
Occupational name: From MHG esch (cornfield, grainfield), the owner of a field for farming. |
| Eschenbach |
Place name: From a town named Eschenbach, found in many parts of German-speaking Europe. FAMOUS: See Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach above. |
| Espe |
Place name: From a town named Espe or Espa; or from a place with aspen trees (Espe). |
| Esselmann |
Place name: From a town named Essel. (Not to be confused with Esel, a donkey!) |
| Essich, Essig, Eßig, Essiger |
Occupational name: From the Germanic word Essig (vinegar): A person who made or sold vinegar. Essiger can also be a place name, a person from a town named Essig. |
| Ester, Esterer, Estermann |
Place name: From a town named Ester or with Ester in its name (Esterbach, Esterholz, etc.); originating from a place with fenced fields or meadows (MHG erster). |
| 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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