German soldiers first name last name. Beautiful German names

German surnames began to appear and spread from the 12th century. But it was not until 1875 that they began to register and enroll. Since then, every German has a first name (Vorname), sometimes a middle name (Zwischenname) and a surname (Familienname).

Origin of German surnames:

from profession
on behalf of father or mother
from the nickname (long, curly...
from origin (name of village or hamlet)
from place of residence (name of place of residence)

A huge number of German surnames come from various professions. Therefore, the most popular German surnames are the names of professions that were common in the Middle Ages. For example, the profession of a farmer was so common then that it was not very suitable for the role of a surname (Bauer), which would distinguish people from each other. Therefore, this surname occupies only 13th place in the list. Farmers then received mostly surnames that came from the names of the villages and hamlets in which they lived.

Examples of surnames:

German surname Müller - derived from the profession of a miller;
German surname Schmidt - from blacksmithing;
German surnames Schneider, Schroeder (Schneider) mean tailor;
the German surname Fischer corresponds to fishing;
The German surname Weber means weaver;
The German surname Lehmann translates as landowner.

There are also many German surnames that have Slavic origin. These surnames originated in the lands of Sachsen, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the Slavs formerly lived. About 13% of Germans now have Slavic surnames. Examples of surnames:

Nowak (Polish)

Noack (Serbian)

Also, due to the abundance of Turkish migrants, Turkish surnames are becoming widespread:

By the way, earlier German surnames also had feminine endings, just like in Russian. For example, Müller in— “Melnikov A". These endings persisted until the 18th century, and then disappeared. Sometimes such endings can still be heard in Bavarian German.

List of the most popular German surnames:

Müller (miller)
Schmidt (blacksmith)
Schneider (tailor)
Fischer (fisherman)
Weber (weaver)
Meyer (builder)
Wagner (carriage maker)
Becker (baker)
Schulz (chief in town, village)
Hoffmann (profession)
Schäfer (shepherd)
Koch (cook)
Bauer (farmer)
Richter (profession)
Klein (small)
Wolf (wolf)
Schröder (Schneider) (tailor)
Neumann (new)
Schwarz (black)
Zimmermann (carpenter)
Braun (brown)
Krüger (innkeeper)
Hofmann (profession)
Hartmann (profession)
Lange (long)
Schmitt (profession)
Werner (name)
Schmitz (printer)
Krause (curly)
Meier (builder)
Lehmann (profession)
Schmid (profession)
Schulze (profession)
Maier (builder)
Köhler (profession)
Herrmann (name)
König (king)
Walter (name)
Mayer (builder)
Huber (profession)
Kaiser (Kaiser)
Fuchs (fox)
Peters (name)
Lang (long)
Scholz (profession)
Möller (profession)
Weiß (white)
Jung (young)
Hahn (rooster)
Schubert (shoemaker)

Such a maneuver can hardly be called deception - most likely it is a pseudonym, a way to use your favorite names and surnames.

The most popular nicknames for social networking accounts are German surnames.

Girls especially often use German surnames. By monitoring the accounts, you can identify particularly popular options.

List of popular German surnames for girls with translation

Before using a specific German surname, it is worth knowing the exact translation. Sometimes funny stories happen when the “carrier” learns the translation from friends or acquaintances.

The peculiarity of German surnames lies in their origin. Each option has historical origins: profession, social status, habits.

Note! It is worth knowing the ethics regarding writing surnames in German. Some options cannot be used by a girl, others are not suitable for men.

Thanks to the lists, you can choose a surname not only with a normal meaning, but also a beautiful sounding one. There are lists of the most popular options, compiled according to statistics from German institutions.

Translation for German surnames:

German surnames for girls	List in Russian
Müller	Miller. Has ancient roots. The translation itself speaks of the craft that the family has been engaged in for a long time
Schmidt	Blacksmith. Included in the 30 most popular options and also determines the artisanal past of the family
Schneider	Fisherman. This value determines more about a person’s passion. It happened that this was the name given to fish or seafood merchants
König	King. The owners of such property were the closest relatives of the monarch
Schwarz	Black or black-haired. Appeared as a nickname for people who had features and appearance that were non-standard for the German people
Brown	Brown. Sometimes this was the name given to people who wore exclusively brown clothes or had brown hair and brown eyes
Hartmann	Derived from the male name Hartmann. The clan received such a surname if the family did not have any special differences, occupations, or privileges
Wagner	Wagner
Richter	Judge. Previously, only noble people who administered justice

Beautiful German names and their meanings

German female names are very beautiful and sonorous, as they combine Latin, Greek, Scandinavian and English motifs.

Some of them are inherent Slavic peoples and are actively used. It is considered fashionable to give children foreign names. Especially if it's a girl.

Some variants of names are also popular in our country, but they are sweet-sounding and do not hurt the ear with their non-standard pronunciation.

When choosing a foreign name for a girl, it is important to know the meaning and translation.

Beautiful female names and their meanings:

Amalia is translated as work. Assigned to hardworking and diligent girls.
Beata has ecclesiastical origins and literally means blessed.
Bertha is magnificent, the most wonderful and charming.
Irma has a direct translation: dedicated to the god of war. There are Roman roots here.
Katarina or Katherine means pure maiden. The owners were the daughters of shepherds and clergy.
Laura was the name given to people in Rome who received a laurel wreath - a sign of greatness and victory.
Malvina has a literal translation - friend of justice.
Sophie and everything that comes from him are defined as wisdom.
Teresa is translated from German as beloved or strong. Borrowed from Greek, where it means female hunters.
Eleanor has two meanings. The first is foreign, and the second is different.
Elvira is the protector of everyone.
Jadwiga is the name of a rich warrior who glorified one of the Scandinavian villages.

There are options for double names that combine Slavic and German names.

Many believe that this combination activates energy centers that are responsible for certain areas of human activity.

What German surname and first name should I choose for the VKontakte network?

It is also important that this account I didn’t meet on VKontakte too often.

According to statistics The most harmonious and interesting are the following German surnames: Mayer, Weber, Braun, Werner, Lehmann.
Their popularity is indicated by their bearers - they are all famous people of art and science.
Most Popular names in Germany according to registry office statistics for the last 30 years: Sophie, Marie, Hannah.
Behind Last year the most frequently registered girls are the following names: Mia, Emma, Lilly, Emilia, Maya, Sarah.
Can interpret your name as foreign, changing the ending, stress, and pronunciation inherent in the language.
For example, Sofia sounds like Sophie in a foreign way; Maria, like Marie.

If your account contains a German first and last name, then when choosing, you should work on the consonance. Even the simplest and popular names and surnames often do not go together.

Attention! An interesting option will be the German version of the surname with the real name of the owner of the page in social network. This technique is most popular among teenagers.

The advantage of German names is that they all have certain meaning and meaning.

There are no fictional options that do not carry any semantic meaning. Therefore, the choice for a social network must be thoughtful.

1. Mueller (0.95%) (miller)
2. Schmidt (0.69%) (blacksmith)
3. Schneider (0.40%) (tailor)
4. Fischer (0.35%) (fisherman)
5. Meyer (0.33%) (from the Latin major - “big”, official (elder, law enforcement officer, zemstvo chief, etc.), or from the Jewish surname Meir; also: Meier, 0.15% ; Maier, 0.13%; Mayer, 0.13%)
6. Weber (0.30%) (weaver)
7. Schulz (0.27%) (judge)
8. Wagner (0.27%) (cart worker)
9. Becker (0.27%) (baker)
10. Hoffmann (0.26%) (yard owner)
11. Schaefer (shepherd)
12. Koch (cook)
13. Bauer (peasant)
14. Richter (judge)
15. Klein (small)
16. Schroeder (tailor)
17. Wolf (wolf)
18. Neumann (new man)
19. Schwarz (black)
20. Zimmermann (carpenter)
21. Krueger (innkeeper)
22. Braun (brown)
23. Hofmann (yard owner)
24. Schmitz (blacksmith)
25. Hartmann (strong or forest man)
26. Lange (long)
27. Schmitt (blacksmith)
28. Werner (fighter)
29. Krause (curly)
30. Meier (see Meyer)
31. Schmid (blacksmith)
32. Lehmann (len holder)
33. Schultze (judge)
34. Maier (see Meyer)
35. Koehler (coal miner)
36. Herrmann (warrior)
37. Walter (messenger)
38. Koenig (king)
39. Mayer (see Meyer)
40. Huber (peasant)
41. Kaiser (emperor)
42. Fuchs (fox)
43. Peters (Petrov)
44. Moeller (miller)
45. Scholz (judge)
46. Lang (long)
47. Weiss (white)
48. Jung (young)
49. Hahn (rooster)
50. Vogel (bird)

The most common Russian surnames

1. Smirnov
2. Ivanov
3. Kuznetsov
4. Popov
5. Sokolov
6. Lebedev
7. Kozlov
8. Novikov
9. Morozov
10. Petrov
11. Volkov
12. Soloviev
13. Vasiliev
14. Zaitsev
15. Pavlov
16. Semenov
17. Golubev
18. Vinogradov
19. Bogdanov
20. Vorobiev
21. Fedorov
22. Mikhailov
23. Belyaev
24. Tarasov
25. Belov
26. Komarov
27. Orlov
28. Kiselev
29. Makarov
30. Andreev
31. Kovalev
32. Ilyin
33. Gusev
34. Titov
35. Kuzmin
36. Kudryavtsev
37. Baranov
38. Kulikov
39. Alekseev
40. Stepanov
41. Yakovlev
42. Sorokin
43. Sergeev
44. Romanov
45. Zakharov
46. Borisov
47. Korolev
48. Gerasimov
49. Ponomarev
50. Grigoriev

Sources of Russian surnames:
Surnames formed from the names: Ivanov, Petrov, Vasiliev, Pavlov, Semenov, Bogdanov, Fedorov, Mikhailov, Tarasov, Makarov, Andreev, Ilyin, Titov, Kuzmin, Alekseev, Stepanov, Yakovlev, Sergeev, Romanov, Zakharov, Borisov, Gerasimov, Grigoriev (23)
Surnames derived from the names of animals: Sokolov, Lebedev, Kozlov, Volkov, Soloviev, Zaitsev, Golubev, Vorobyov, Komarov, Orlov, Gusev, Baranov, Kulikov, Sorokin (14)
Surnames formed from natural or psychological traits: Smirnov, Morozov (?), Belyaev, Belov, Kiselev (?), Kudryavtsev, Korolev (?) (7)
Surnames derived from occupation: Kuznetsov, Popov, Novikov (?), Kovalev, Ponomarev (5)
Surnames derived from plant names: Vinogradov (1)

Sources of German surnames:
Surnames derived from occupation: Mueller + Moeller, Schmidt + Schmitz + Schmitt + Schmid, Schneider, Fischer, Meyer + Meier + Maier + Mayer, Weber, Schulz + Schultze + Scholz, Wagner, Becker, Hoffmann + Hofmann, Schaefer, Koch , Bauer, Richter, Schroeder, Neumann (?), Zimmermann, Krueger, Werner, Lehmann, Koehler, Herrmann, Walter, Huber (34)
Surnames derived from physical or psychological traits: Klein, Schwarz, Braun, Hartmann, Lange, Krause, Koenig (?), Kaiser (?), Lang, Weiss, Jung (11)
Surnames derived from animal names: Wolf, Fuchs, Hahn, Vogel (4)
Surnames derived from given names: Peters (1)

The predominance in the Russian list of surnames formed from given names is striking (twenty-three). IN German list There is only one such surname. In second place in the Russian list are surnames derived from the names of animals. There are also significantly fewer of them on the German list (four versus fourteen). The number of surnames derived from physical or psychological traits in the lists is approximately comparable (seven and eleven). In the German list, surnames derived from occupation absolutely predominate (thirty-four versus five in the Russian list). Coincidences between the lists: Kuznetsov-Kovalev (Schmidt + Schmitz + Schmitt + Schmid), Novikov (Neumann), Belyaev-Belov (Weiss), Kudryavtsev (Krause), Korolev (Koenig), Petrov (Peters), Volkov (Wolf).

Personal German names belong to the most ancient onyms. German surnames appeared much later.

The German personal names that we encounter today accumulated in it gradually, were borrowed from different sources. Some of them go back to ancient Germanic onyms, many modern German names in different time were borrowed from other peoples. There is a particularly strong craving for foreign names these days.

In modern German-speaking culture, a person has two types of names: a personal name (Rufname) and a surname (Familienname). Patronymic (Vatersname) is absent in the German environment. In everyday life, the word der Name denotes a surname: “Mein Name ist Müller.”; "Wie war doch gleich der Name?" (“Your last name?” is a common question from a person who has forgotten the last name of the interlocutor): Der Name steht an der Wohnungstür. In official documents where required full name, there is a column “Vorname und Name”, i.e. personal name and surname.

Stories of German personal names

The oldest names of Germanic origin originated in the 7th–4th centuries. BC. Like other Indo-European languages, they are composed of two parts and were intended to magically “influence” human destiny, give him strength, courage, victory, protection of the gods, etc. This is reflected in the etymology of ancient names that exist today such as Eberhart (“stark wie ein Eber”), Bemhart (“stark wie der Bär”), Wolfgang, cf. Russians Svyatoslav, Gorisveta, Vladimir. From the oldest layer of personal names - about 2,000 of them have been discovered - today there are hardly a hundred active ones. Already in early middle ages the “magical meaning” of personal names was completely lost.

In the second half of the 8th century. V German names associated with Christianity begin to penetrate from Italy: first names from the Old Testament - Adam (Hebrew “first-born”), Susanne (Hebrew “lily”), then Andreas (Greek “brave”), Agathe (“good”) , Katharina (“pure”), from Latin – Viktor “winner”, Beata “happy”. Biblical names were borrowed especially actively in the 15th century. Moreover, in Catholic families preference was and is given to the names of saints - patrons of infants, in Lutheran families - to the names of biblical characters. Personal names with religious content were also created from German words and stems: Traugott, Fürchtegott, Gotthold, etc.

The choice of a personal name is often influenced by fashion
– then these are romantically “Nordic” (Knut, Olaf, Sven, Birgit), borrowed from ancient Germanic mythology or from the heroic epic (Siegfrid, Siegmund, etc.),
– those are French names (Annette, Claire, Nicole, Yvonne),
– either Russian (Vera, Natascha, Sascha), Italian or Anglo-American.
Thus, in 1983, in the Bern region (GDR, near Leipzig) the most common names girls were Nicole, Anja, Susanne, Maudy, Christin, Yvonne. For boys - Christian, Thomas, Stefan, Patrick, Michael, Sebastian.

The fashion for names is largely shaped by imitation. In the old days, children were willingly given the names of monarchs (in Prussia - Friedrich, Wilhelm; in Saxony - August, Johann, Albert; in Austria - Joseph, Leopold, Maximilian), as well as the names of heroes of literary works.

Today, when choosing a name, there is a strong influence of cinema, television and pop music, and there is also a craving for originality, uniqueness, and unusualness of the name. Previously known names are often written in a foreign style: Elly, Sylvia, Gaby (instead of Elli, Silvia, Gabi). Some names have gone out of fashion. They are given very rarely today. People of the older generation have names that are no longer used today. (...)

In everyday life, many German personal names, especially long ones, are abbreviated, for example: Ulrich –> Ulli; Bertolt –> Bert(i); Bernhard –> Bernd; Katharina –> Kat(h)e; Friedrich –> Fritz; Heinrich –> Heinz, Harry; Johannes –> Hans; Susanne –> Susi. Some of these so-called hypocoristic names have now begun to be used on a par with the original ones, i.e. independently, for example: Fritz, Heinz, Hans.

German surnames

German surnames developed much later than German personal names. Origin of German surnames begins with the Middle Ages. They developed from so-called nicknames (Beinamen), which originally contained information
– about the origin of the bearer of the name,
– about his place of birth: Walter von der Vogelweide, Dietrich von Berne.

Many nicknames indicated some physical or other differences of a given person: Friedrich Barbarossa (= Rotbart, “Redbeard”), Heinrich der Lowe, etc. Over time, this nickname began to be passed on to the heirs and enshrined in official documents.

The famous German linguist W. Fleischer points out that from the 12th century. the appearance of German surnames begins first in big cities in the West. In the north, in the province of Hanover, they were introduced only in early XIX V. by order of Napoleon. Family names and surnames were assigned primarily to feudal lords. (...) Fleischer gives as an example the characters in Lessing’s play “Minna von Barnhelm”: Fräulein von Barnhelm, Major von Tellheim are nobles, while the servants are Just, Franziska. And today domestic servants It is customary to call simply by name, in contrast to the usual address:

Frau + first or last name

Herr + first or last name

The overwhelming majority of modern German surnames were formed from personal names (Walter, Hermann30 most common German surnames

1. Müller - miller
2. Schmidt - blacksmith

4. Fischer - fisherman

6. Weber - weaver

8. Becker - baker

12. Koch - cook

16. Wolf (Wolf) - wolf

30. König - king
, Peters, Jacobi), nicknames (Bart, Stolz) and names of professions and occupations (Müller, Schmidt, Koch, Schulze, Schumacher).

The most popular German surnames. List of 30 surnames

1. Müller - miller
2. Schmidt - blacksmith
3. Schneider - tailor
4. Fischer - fisherman
5. Meier - property manager
6. Weber - weaver
7. Wagner - carriage maker, carriage maker
8. Becker - baker
9. Schulz - headman
10. Hofmann, Hoffmann - courtier
11. Schäfer - shepherd
12. Koch - cook
13. Bauer - peasant
14. Richter - judge
15. Klein (small)
16. Wolf (Wolf) - wolf
17. Schröder - tailor
18. Neumann - new man
19. Schwarz - black (black-haired)
20. Zimmermann - carpenter
21. Brown (Braun) - brown
22. Kruger - potter
23. Hartmann - from the male name Hartmann
24. Lange - long (large)
25. Werner - from the male name Werner
26. Krause - curly
27. Lehmann - landowner
28. Köhler - coal miner
29. Hermann - from the male name Herrmann
30. König - king

List of popular German surnames

* Abicht
* Adler
* Eikhenwald
* Albrecht
* Altman
* Appel
* Arnold

* Baade
* Baum
* Bauman
* Baumgarten
*Baur
* Bauer
* Bach
* Bachman
* Bebel
* Benz
* Berg
* Berger
* Bergman
* Berend
* Behrens
* Bilderling
* Form
* Block
* Blucher
* Bonke
* Borzig
* Borman
* Brandt
* Braunfels
* Bremer
* Brenner
* Brunner
* Brunet
* Burckhardt
* Bülow

* Wagner
* Weigl
* Weiss
* Walser
* Walter
* Wasserman
* Weber
* Wegener
* Veltman
* Wenzel
* Werner
* Winkelhock
* Winterhalter
* Virt
* Wolf
* Wolzogen
* Wulf

* Hasenclover
* Ganz
* Hardenberg
* Hartung
* Goebbels
* Haeckel
* Gehlen
* Geller
* Genkel
* Goering
* Hertz

* Hess
* Hesse
* Himmler (disambiguation)
* Hirsch
* Girshman
*Hitler
* Glazenap
*Grimm
* Grossman
* Gruber

* Delbrück
* Diels
* Drexler

*Zach
* Zaks
* Zaleman
* Seidemann
* Seydlitz
* Seiler
* Semper
* Sievers
* Siegel
* Zilberman
* Silberstein
* Simmel
* Singer
* Sommer

* Yeager
* Jens
* Jensen
* Jentsch
* Yerg
* Josef
* Jon
* Yost

* Kade
* Kallenberg
* Callisen
* Kalb
* Kalkbrenner
* Kaltenbrunner
* Cantor
* Carus
* Kaulbach
* Kaufman
* Cauer
* Katz
* Koehler
* Keller
* Kellerman
* Ker
* Kirchner
* Kirchner
*Kittel
* Cool
*Klee
* Klein
* Kleiner
* Kleinerman
* Kleinman
* Kleist
* Klemperer
* Klenze
* Klinger
* Klotz
* Kleiber

* Klein
* Kleiner
* Knecht
* Kolbe
* Kopp
* Corf
* Kramer
* Krause
* Kraus
* Krebs
* Krenz
* Kretschmer
* Kruse
* Kun
* Kurtz
* Küng
* Köhler
* Koehne
* Koenig
* Koestlin

* Lamprecht
* Landsberg
* Laufer
* Leitner
* Lenz
* Liebknecht
* Lipsius
* Lichtenberg
* Loos

* Mayer
* Mackensen
* Mahler
* Mann
*Mezières
* Meyendorff
* Meyer
* Meissner
* Meltzer
* Meltzer
* Merkel
* Merz
* Metzger
*Moderzone
* Morgner
* Moritz
* Mozart
*Müller
* Mobius

* Nagel
* Bernhard
* Nikolai
* Nolken
* Notbeck
* Nöller

* Overback
* Osterman

* Patkul
*Pearl
* Preuss

* Ratzenberger
* Rau
* Rausch
* Rebinder
* Reinhardt
* Rennenkampf
* Riedel
* Rickert
* Rogge
* Rosenbaum
* Romberg
* Rothman
* Rothschild
* Rumpf
* Rumpff

* Sartorius
* Segal

* Thyssen
* Tischbein

* Feigenbaum
* Feuerbach
* Finkelstein
* Fischer
* Fleischer
* Fleishman
* Voigt
* Von Richthofen
* Von Feuerbach
* Franke
* Frieze

* Frisch
* Fuchs
* Furstenberg

* Haas
* Hagen
* Huckle
* Hanke
* Herzog
* Honecker
* Hopp
* Hoffman

* Zimmerman
* Zuckerman
* Zurbriggen

* Schwartz
* Shvartsman
* Schweitzer
* Scheidemann
* Schelling
* Schaefer
* Schaeffer
* Shekhtel
* Schiller
* Shirman

* Slate
* Schlechter
* Schmidt
* Schmitz
* Schneider
* Shneiderman
* Scholl
* Spiegel
* Sprenger
* Schreyer
* Shredder
* Stackelberg
* Stein
* Stern
* Schubert
* Shulman
* Schultze
* Schulze
* Schumacher

* Ebel
* Ebert
* Erdman
* Etinger

It so happens that a German surname can be recognized immediately. They are probably the most characteristic of the descendants of the ancient Germans. Despite the large number of peoples speaking Germanic languages, in Germany and Austria a generic name rarely has foreign language origin, what distinguishes the Germans from the British. Meanwhile, the process of their formation in these countries was not much different from similar ones in other parts of Europe.

In the Middle Ages, Germany was characterized by a high degree of feudal fragmentation, and this state of affairs persisted until the century before last. The abundance of small kingdoms and principalities sometimes played into the hands of the local nobility: here, as Klyuchevsky put it, other states were accustomed to seeing heads waiting for foreign crowns while these crowns had lost their heads.

The princes from these lands already had surnames: they began to spread from the 12th century, primarily among them.

Another feature of Germany was the abundance of cities. These cities had a special status, having at one time won their independence from the lords and becoming not an object, but a subject of law. Migrants and peasants who fled from their masters flocked there, because living in the city for a year gave freedom. Crafts flourished, and after the name a person always named his profession.

Rural residents more often used the name of the area where they lived or were born when introducing themselves. This left its mark on German anthroponymy, which was consolidated in documents relatively late - this happened in 1875.

Varieties and their origin

The structure of German family names does not differ from that of other peoples. They have the same etymology as other European ones, the only difference is in the degree of prevalence of one category or another. They are as follows:

registered;
nicknames;
professional;
toponymic.

German and Austrian surnames are characterized by a predominance of two last groups, which sharply distinguishes them from French and English, and even more so from Scandinavian ones, where patronymics are the first on the list, or even the only ones. In Germany they usually have a possessive suffix -s at the end: Peters, Jens, but they can also coincide with the name, for example, Werner, Joseph, Ebel.

Nickname surnames are often neutral: they rarely express negative attitude to a person, but can emphasize it characteristics: Weiss (blond), Krause (curly), Fuchs (sly fox), Klyan (short), Hartman ( strong man), Schwartz (brunet), Steil and Steiler (cool), Lange (long).

Cook, miller and carpenter

A large percentage of Germans have professional surnames. The professions from which they originated are not only urban, but also rural. In any case, the most common surname in Germany, Müller, reveals that its bearer is a descendant of a miller.

Austria stands apart here: the surname Gruber comes first there, meaning a person who digs something. Hardly we're talking about about graves, rather, about mine workings.

If you wish, you can even study the guild structure of a medieval city by analyzing German surnames and their meanings:

Schmidt - blacksmith;
Schneider - tailor;
Fisher - fisherman;
Richter - judge;
Becker - baker;
Wagner - carriage maker;
Köhler - coal miner;
Zimmerman - carpenter;
Schultz is the headman.

There are a lot of such surnames in Russia; they came here along with migrants during tsarist times.

Toponymy in German surnames

At first, the nobility called themselves this way, and the naming was based on the name of the property. It was usually preceded by the prefix “von” or “von der”.

Later, ordinary people, primarily residents of rural areas, began to introduce themselves this way.

In Germany there is still a tradition of the given name, and it is enshrined in civil law. If a person introduces himself not only by his last name, but also by the place where he lives, this is indicated in official letters.

Such a given name turned into a surname, although after the latter was fixed, the tradition did not die.

Often such surnames are two-part and can have the endings -feld, -berg, -burg, -hof and others, which indicates ownership or a characteristic feature of the area where the person’s ancestors come from. So, "Schwarzenegger" does not mean "black plowman"(blacks were not brought to Austria), and the Schwarzenegger area is a mountain range that abounds in this country.

Among such generic names we can recall the following: Rosenberg, Stolberg, Habsburg, Eichenwald, Braunfels, Hardenberg, Meyendorff, Richthofen and others.

It must be said that in Germany and Austria the prefix “von” is now rare, and in Austria it is completely prohibited, like any titles. Those who wished at one time made the title part of the surname, and it turned out to be two-part.

Distribution and regional features

If speak about grammatical category gender, then it is not characteristic of German surnames; women’s surnames do not differ from men’s. This rule is violated in Bavaria - there the gender can be indicated in oral speech by the ending “-in” for women, but this is not reflected in the documents. Before the surname in oral communication and letters, standard addresses are used - "Herr" for a man, "Frau" for a married woman and "Fräulein" for a girl.

The surname can be a pair, but nothing more.

Top 10 German surnames

If you look at the statistics, the most common in Germany are the following German surnames in the list:

Austrian ones are somewhat different from German ones:

Regional differences

Long feudal fragmentation could not but affect the language, or more precisely, the languages of Germany. Linguists highlight three dialect zones on the territory of that country - upper (southern), middle and lower. Dialects, despite the dominance of the literary language, are still used in everyday life.

German, Austrian and Swiss family names differ according to several criteria:

All this applies not to specific anthroponyms, but to statistical data on them, which is very important, given internal migration.

Orthographically, surnames reflect differences in the phonetics of different dialects in the past. Thus, the surname Müller is of Bavarian origin, and Möller is of Low German origin. Miller is more typical for Swabia. Meyer and Meier are distributed evenly throughout Germany, and Mayer and Maier in the south.

The same profession could have different names in the regions. So, the analogue of the Russian surname Goncharov in the north will be Pötter, in the center - Töpfer, in the west - Aulner, and in the south - Hafner. The carriage maker in the western regions was called Wagner, and in the eastern regions - Stellmacher.

In Swabia a high proportion of surnames derived from nicknames, in Switzerland they like endings “-ing”; along the North Sea coast there is a higher proportion of patronymic generic names. A feature of the eastern regions of Austria and Germany are the endings “-itz” and “-itz”, historically dating back to the Slavic population of these areas in the Middle Ages, but now considered “ours”.

Real and fictional celebrities

When it comes to German surnames, the first thing that comes to mind is Nazi Germany and its “four Gs”. In fact, there are both G and H, as well as many other interesting things.

For example, Adolf Hitler's ancestors had slightly different names, and the spelling Hitler was the result of a spelling error in the parish register. This was not the first time, since the German Ordnung apparently did not take root in the village of Ranshofen. The documents record people with the surnames Hiedler, Hitlaer and Hütler, and it comes from the profession of a forester.

The ancestor of the Bavarian Heinrich Himmler (spelled Himmler) was probably a heavenly messenger - this is exactly the meaning of this surname. Despite the fact that the surname can be called beautiful, the descendants of the Reichsführer SS are very shy about it, like others who once belonged to leaders of the Third Reich.

The family name of Reichsmarshall Goering was written as Göring and had regional analogues in Germany: Hering, Göhring and Gering, and these words have different meanings. Where ö is written, we are talking about a herring, and when written e, we are talking about a low person.

The surname Goebbels also appears in two versions: Goebbels (that was the name of the propagandist) and Göbbels, but what it means is not entirely clear.

The ancestor of Rudolf Hess came from the corresponding land - Hesse.

With the heroes of the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring” everything is quite simple, especially with Muller. As for Schellenberg, he has a typical toponym, like Kaltenbrunner, whose ancestors apparently lived near some cold spring in Austria.

But Stirlits do not exist at all. Judging by the suffix, this name is from eastern Austria, but there are two types of Stieglitz - Stiglitz and Stiegliz. This surname is rare, translated from Slavic nicknames, its meaning is goldfinch.

Of the holders of German family names in Russia, we can mention the famous Alisa Freundlich (“friendly”), Alfred Koch, whose ancestor was a cook, and Alexey Miller, a descendant of a Swabian miller.

In addition to the Germans, Ashkenazi Jews also have such surnames, who received them once in Germany.

In Israel they often get rid of them by translating them into Hebrew or writing down something that sounds similar. But in Russia and other countries, Ashkenazi names are preserved.

Attention, TODAY only!