Surname Dictionary Bibliography

Nachschlagewerke: Namen

• Introduction
• General Dictionaries
• Regional Dictionaries
• Example Surnames

Introduction

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General Dictionaries

• Bahlow, Hans
  • Deutsches Namenlexikon
    1985, Taschenbuch, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, ISBN 3-518-36565-7
    Inhalt: Vornamen und Nachnamen aus deutschen Gebieten.
    Anmerkung: Interpretationen weichen teilweise erheblich von Naumann ab ! [Amazon.de]
  • Dictionary of German Names
    1993, Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, University of Wisconsin at Madison.
    Contents: Translation of the above by Edda Gentry. First and last names from German lands.
    Available from the Max Kade Institute, the Origins Genealogy Book Store or Amazon.com

• Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann
  • Deutsches Namenbuch
    1928, Stuttgart: A. Bong
  • Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen
    1957, Limburg a.d. Lahn: C.A. Starke.
  • Teufel, Hölle, Himmel in deutschen Sippennamen: Beiträge zur Kunde deutscher Sippennamen
    1. Teil, 1936, Görlitz: C.A. Starke, viii, 42 S. (Schriftenreihe Sippenforschung; Heft 21).
    Content: German surnames including terminology for devil, hell, heaven. [FHL Europe Book Area/943/D25ss/no. 21]

• Gottschald, Max, Deutsche Namenkunde: unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung
  5th ed. 1982. 667 pg. ISBN 3-11-008618-2 [$161.55 US or 210 DM Walter de Gruyter, Genthiner Str. 13, D-10785 Berlin or Postfach 303421, D-10728 Berlin or Amazon.de]

• Heintze, Albert & Paul Cascorbi, Die Deutschen Familiennamen, geschichtlich, geographisch, sprachlich, 1967, 536 pg., ISBN 0-318-71916-9, Georg Olms Verlag AG, Hagentorwall 7, D-31134 Hildesheim

• Jones, George Fenwick, 1916-, German-American Names
  Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., c1990 [Amazon.com]

• Kapff, Schädbische Geschlechtsnamen

• Linnartz, Kaspar, 1878-:
  • Unsere Familiennamen
    Hanover: F. Dummler, 1958, 3rd edition, 2v.; 19 cm. [copy exists at Harvard]
  • Unsere Familiennamen Zehntausend Berufsnamen Im ABC Erklärt
    Berlin, Bonn, F. Dummler, 1936, 169 p., 21 cm.
    Content: Names, Personal--German; Names, German--Etymology. [copy exists at Harvard]
  • Unsere Familiennamen aus Deutschen und Fremden Vornamen im ABC erklärt
    Bonn, Berlin, F. Dummlers Verlag, 1939; Bonn, Dummler, 1944, xxiii, 140, 145 p.
    Content: Names, Personal--German; Names, German--Etymology. [copy exists at Harvard]

• Naumann, Horst
  • Das grosse Buch der Familiennamen
    1994, gebunden, Falken Verlag, Niedernhausen, Germany, ISBN 3-8068-4781-9
    Inhalt: Deutsche Nachnamen, Alter, Herkunft, Bedeutung; slawische Familiennamen.
    Anmerkung: Interpretationen weichen teilweise erheblich von Bahlow ab ! [Amazon.de]
  • Familiennamenbuch
    1987, Leipzig, Bibliographisches Institut

• Zobel

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Regional Dictionaries

• Göbel, Niederdeutsche Familiennamen
• Götze, Familiennamen im badischen Oberland
• Nied
  • Fränkische Familiennamen
  • Südwestdeutsche Familiennamen
• Preuss, Die lippischen Familiennamen
• Schwarz
  • Sudetendeutsche Familiennamen I
  • Sudetendeutsche Familiennamen II
• Strackerjan, Die jeverldnd. (ostfriesischen) Personennamen
• Zoder, Familiennamen in Ostfalen

You can usually find at least one of these books at the nearest large library in your area (including perhaps one at a university). If the library does not have it, then in the United States at least, the library can get it for you from another library via Interlibrary Loan. To find out what libraries hold some of these books, please consult our libraries page.

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Example Surnames

Origin or Place Names

Name	Meaning
Bamberger	from city of Bamberg in Bavaria
Böhm	from Böhmen (Bohemia)
Kappelhoff	from the estate with the Kapelle (chapel)
Kirchthaler	from the Tal (valley) with the Kirche (church)
Kissinger	from Bad Kissingen
Unger	from Ungarn (Hungary)
Wiener	from Wien (Vienna)
Zuger, Zug	from the Swiss city of Zug

Nicknames

Name	Meaning
Frühauf	up early (connotes early riser)
Fuchs	fox (connotes cunning)
Hasenfus(s)	hare's foot (connotes coward)
Klug(e)	wise
Lahm	lame
Lang	long, tall
Mückenhirn	midget-sized brain
Schwar(t)z	black [hair]
Schwar(t)zkopf	black head
Weiss	white
Zorn	anger

Patronymics

Name	Meaning
Lorenz(en)	son of Lorenz
Peters(en)	son of Peter

Occupation

Name	Meaning
Bäcker	baker
Bauer	farmer
Becker	baker
Eisenhauer	ore miner
Fischer	fisherman
Müller	miller
Meier	estate supervisor
Pfannebecker	maker of clay roof tiles
Richter	judge
Schäfer	shepherd
Schmidt	blacksmith
Schneider	tailor
Schröder	tailor
Schreiner	carpenter
Weber	weaver
Zimmermann	carpenter

Variations by Region

Because names are language-specific, they often reflect regional dialect differences:

North	South	Central and East	Meaning
Knochenhauer	Metzger, Fleischhacker	Fleischer, Fleischhauer	butcher
Kock	Koch		cook
Koopmann	Kaufmann		merchant
Kröger	Krüger		innkeeper
Möller	Müller		miller
Muhrmann	Mauermann		bricklayer
Niebuhr	Neubauer	Nauber	new farmer
Niemann	Neumann	Naumann	new man
Pöttner	Haf(f)ner	Töpfer	potter
Petersen	Peters	Peter	son of Peter
Schütte	Schütz		shooter/hunter
Tischer	Schreiner	Tischler	cabinetmaker
Ungermann	Ungerer	Unger	from Hungary
van Ungern	von Ungern		from Hungary

To read more about this topic, see "What's in a (German) Surname?" by Jürgen Eichhoff, professor of German linguistics at Pennsylvania State University, in German Life magazine (August/September 1999 issue).

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