The meaning and origin of male and female German names and surnames. Ancient and modern German names. Interesting Facts about German names.

4.08.2016 / 14:19 | Varvara Pokrovskaya

You have acquaintances, friends, business partners from Germany and you want to know more about their names and surnames. Then this article will probably be useful to you.

Features of German names

German names were formed in several stages under the influence of political, historical, and cultural processes. Based on their origin, they can be divided into three groups:

• ancient Germanic names

They were formed back in the 7th–4th centuries. BC e. Closely associated with magic, mythology, totemic, military symbols and were intended to influence future fate and the character of a person. Some of them are of Scandinavian origin. Consist of two parts. In modern use there are no more than several hundred of them. The rest are long outdated.

• Latin, Greek, Hebrew (Biblical) names

They are still widespread today due to their versatility. They are familiar to representatives of any country and go well with surnames. They are used both in their original form and with some phonetic changes characteristic of the German language. For example: Victor, Katharina (Ekaterina), Nicholas (Nikolai), Alexander, Johann (Ivan), Joseph (Joseph), etc.

• foreign names used in abbreviated form

Fashion for them appeared in the middle of the last century. At first they were French - Marie, Annette, Catherine. Later they were joined by Russians (Sasha, Natasha, Vera, Vadim) and Arabic/Turkic variants Jem (Jamil), Abu (Abdullah) and others.

The meanings of some ancient Germanic names

	"noble" + "protector"
	"eagle" + "wolf"
	"brilliant" + "raven"
	""horse" + "protector"
	"victory" + "strong"
	"battle" + "friend"
	"spear" + "keep"
	"rich" + "ruler"
	"noble" + "wolf"
	"chief" + "forest"
	"invincible" + "army"
	"wisdom" + "protector"
	"woman" + "warrior"

Until now, in Germany there is a tradition of giving a newborn several names, sometimes there are up to ten. Upon reaching adulthood, this number can be reduced at your discretion. The usual practice is 1-2 first names + last names. Middle names are not used.

Do you know that full name the legendary Catherine I - Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg), the brilliant Mozart - Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart, the current Vice-Chancellor of Germany - Angela Dorothea Merkel (Kasner) - Angela Dorothea Merkel (Kasner)?

But they are far from the record holder. In 1904, one baby was given a name of 740 letters at birth. It looked something like this: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irwin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Juncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfe schlegelsteinhausenbergerdor + several hundred more difficult-to-read and practically untranslatable letter combinations. It was accompanied by an equally impressive surname, but a little more modest - only 540 letters.

Restrictions

German society is known for its conservatism and pedantry. This also affected names. Unlike Russia and the CIS countries, which are liberal in this regard, where registry offices quite officially register children with the names Tsar, Cinderella, Dolphin and even Lucifer, such a number will not work in Germany. Parents who love exotic things will have to defend their opinion in court, the decision of which is unlikely to be comforting for them. Exists whole line restrictions enshrined at the legislative level + list of allowed names.

Forbidden:

• Giving a name without a clear gender characteristic, i.e. calling a boy a female name or a girl a male name. The exception is the name Maria. It can be chosen as the second male: Paul Maria, Hans Maria, Otto Maria.
• Use topographic names - cities, towns, countries.
• Religious taboos - Allah, Judas, Demon, Christ, Buddha.
• Offensive, controversial names. For example, Peter Silie - Parsley.
• Surnames of famous people.
• Titles.
• Brand names - Porsche, Pampers, Joghurt.
• Call children from the same family the same name. But this ban can be easily circumvented if desired. It is enough to register double names with the same first names, but different second names: Anna-Maria and Anna-Martha, Karl-Richard and Karl-Stefan.

For obvious reasons, to this day the name Adolf is an unspoken taboo.

Phonetics

Incorrect: Heinrich Heine, Wilhelm Hohenzollern

Right: Heinrich Heine, Wilhelm Hohenzollern

Error: Hans, Helmut

Right: Hans, Helmut

But: Herbert, Gerwig, Gerda, Herman

German female names

In modern Germany, abbreviated female names have become widespread. Instead of Katarina - Katya, Margarita - Margot. You can often find forms formed by merging two different names: Anna + Margaret = Annagret, Maria + Magdalena = Marlena, Anna + Maria = Annamaria, Anna + Lisa = Anneliese, Hannah + Laura (Laurin) = Hannelore. German female names end in -lind(a), -hild(a), -held(a), -a, ine, -i. An exception is the name Erdmut (Erdmute).

List of common German female names:

• Agna, Agnetta, Agnes - chaste, holy;
• Anna, Annie - mercy (of God), grace;
• Astrid - beautiful, goddess of beauty;
• Beata - blessed;
• Bertha - brilliant, magnificent;
• Wilda - wild;
• Ida - kind;
• Laura - laurel;
• Margareta, Greta is a pearl;
• Rosemary - reminder;
• Sophie, Sophia - wisdom;
• Teresa - strong and loved;
• Ursula - bear;
• Hannah - God is merciful;
• Helga - divine;
• Helena - torch;
• Hilda - practical;
• Frida - peace-loving;

Erma is harmonious.

German male names

In the 20th century replaced majestic names German kings and emperors - Albert, Karl, Wilhelm, Friedrich, Heinrich came more simple - Andreas, Alexander, Alex, Michael, Klaus, Peter, Eric, Frank. Names have become widespread literary heroes and characters from films: Til, Daniel, Chris, Emil, Otto, Arno, Felix, Rocky. Most German male names end with consonants, often ending with letter combinations -brand, -ger, -bert, -hart, -mut. Less often - oh.

German names and surnames

The first German surnames appeared in the Middle Ages and belonged exclusively to aristocrats. They indicated a person’s origin, personal qualities, and family names. Ordinary people were addressed simply by name. By the beginning of the 20th century, all Germans had surnames, regardless of class.

In modern Germany, surnames mostly consist of one word, occasionally two. The law of 1993 abolished three-syllable or more constructions. Aristocratic prefixes - von der, von, der, von und zu are written together with the main part of the surname: von Berne - Vonbern, der Löwe - Derlöwe. The indication of titles was abolished back in 1919.

Surnames Slavic origin in Germany they do not change their ending, regardless of whether they belong to a man or a woman. Upon marriage, both spouses receive a common surname. Traditionally this is the husband's surname. It is also given to children. Changing surnames in Germany by at will not allowed. The exception is cases with discordant variants. In German identity documents, the main name is indicated first, then the second, and then the last name: Michael Stefan Haase, Mari Stefani Klain, Hanns Gerbert Rosenberg.

Common German surnames

Russian writing	German	Meaning
		Peasant
		Brown
		Carriage maker
		Small
		Curly
		Coal Miner
		Homeowner
		Manager
		New person, unknown
Hoffman (Hoffman)		Courtier, page
Zimmermann
		Headman
Stellmacher		Kolesnik

German boy names

In the family, when communicating with peers or in an informal setting, diminutive and short forms of the name are used to address boys, formed by adding the suffixes -lein, -le, -cher, Heinz - Heinzle, Klaus - Klauslein, Peter - Peterle (by analogy with Russians -chka, -check-, -enka, - points: Vovochka, Vanechka, Petenka).

German girl names

The same rule applies when creating girlish diminutive names: Petra, Velma, Irma - Petralein, Velmacher, Irmachen, Rosechen. When formally addressing girls over 15 years old, Fraeulein is added before the name, to lovely lady younger age- Maedchen.

Beautiful German names

The harsh sound characteristic of the German language gives uniqueness and unique charm to both native German names and borrowed ones, such as Italian or Russian. Beauty and euphony, of course, are subjective concepts, but we managed to compile the top most beautiful German names according to users of social networks.

Top 10 most beautiful female German names

1. Alma
2. Angelica
3. Iolanta
4. Isolde
5. Louise
6. Mirabella
7. Emily
8. Paula
9. Silvia
10. Frederica

Top 10 most beautiful male German names:

1. Stephen
2. Elias
3. Lucas
4. Martin
5. Jurgen
6. Gabriel
7. Emil
8. Ralph
9. Theodore (Theo)

Meaning of German names

Biblical names are found quite often in Germany, only in a slightly modified form. Their meaning corresponds to the original source.

Bible names

Original	German version	Translation, meaning
	Abel, Habel
Abraham, Abraham	Abram, Abi, Bram, Braham	father of nations
Immanuel	Emmanuel, Amy, Immo	God is with us
		he laughed
		heel-holding
	Jeremias, Jochem	Yahweh exalted
	Johann, Johan, Hans, Jan	God is merciful
	Johanna, Hannah, Jana	female form from John
		God will reward
Magdalene	Magdalena, Lena, Magda, Madeleine	from the name of the settlement on the shores of Lake Galilee
Maria (Mariam)	Maria, Marie, Meral	bitter, desired
	Matthäus, Matthias
	Michael, Mihl	who is like god
	Michaela, Michaela	female version from Michael
	Moze, Moses	floating
	Rebecca, Becky
	Rachel, Rachelchen
	Zara, Sarah, Zarkhen
	Samuel, Sami, Zami	god heard
	Thomas, Tomi, Tom,

Popular German names

According to data received from several hundred German birth registration departments of the Standesamt, the most popular female names in 2015 were Sophie, Marie, Mia. Among the men, the leaders are Lucas, Alexander, Max, Ben. Also, many parents are increasingly choosing somewhat old-fashioned names for their newborns: Karl, Julius, Otto, Oswald.

Names for German Shepherd

A correctly chosen dog name will greatly facilitate the process of training and everyday interaction with the animal. The best option is a name of one or two syllables, with voiced consonants, partially characterizing the character or appearance pet. It is recommended to name puppies from the same litter with names starting with the same letter.

For German Shepherds - smart, disciplined, stately - nicknames-titles such as Kaiser, Count, Lord, King, Milady are suitable. You can use words in German: Schwartz - black, Brown - brown, Schnell - fast, Spock - Calm, Edel - noble. The names of various German provinces sound beautiful in full or abbreviated form - Westphalia, Lorraine (Lori, Lota), Bavaria, Alsace.

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid are mystics, specialists in esotericism and occultism, authors of 14 books.

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German surnames

German surnames

List of famous German surnames.

German surnames appeared in the 12th century and developed from nicknames that indicated their origin. Family names were assigned primarily to feudal lords. At first, ordinary people were addressed simply by name. By the 20th century, all Germans already had surnames, the distinction between the nobility and common people disappeared.

Aristocratic titles became parts of compound surnames in Germany. Such surnames often include the particle “von”, “von der”, “von dem”.

Most German surnames consists of one word. In 1993, a law came into force in Germany prohibiting three-syllable and polysyllabic surnames that may arise as a result of marriage.

The most common German surnames

Muller

Schmidt

Schneider

Fischer

Meier

Weber

Wagner

Becker

Schulz

Hofmann, Hoffmann

Schafer

Koch

Bauer

Richter

Klein

Wolf

Schroder

Neumann

Stellmacher

Schwarz

Zimmermann

Brown

Kruger

Hartmann

Lange

Werner

Krause

Lehmann

Kohler

Hermann

Konig

Schlosser

Richtengden

German surnames (list)

Eisenberger

Arendt

Auer

Baldwin

Baldauf

Becker

Berthold

Bickel

Bissing

Bitner

Blumentrost

Borman

Bromberg

Brueggemann

Burkhard

Burkel

Weinzierl

Weiss

Veise

Wigman

Witte

Vlah

Wolf

Wolf

Hartwig

Geibel

Heinrich

Gerkan

Gerster

Hertz

Goethe

Ghislaine

Himmler

Hirsch

Glauber

Hoffman

Goffman

Gref

Grimm

Gutzeit

Gunther

Dice

Dummer

Days

Dippel

Seidel

Zaks

Sauer

Zeeman

Zooter

Cantor

Kaufman

Kautz

Cowher

Körbers

Koester

Kirchner

Klee

Koblenz

Kolb

Kolbe

Kopp

Cossman

Krampe

Kraus

Cracker

Kromberg

Kromberger

Kronberg

Kronberger

Kugler

Kunz

Kunze

Lamprecht

Lange

Langen

Langman

Laube

Lehmann

Lechner

Libert

Lipps

Mayer

Major

Mauthner

Mobius

Möllendorf

Merder

Milch

Muller

Notbeck

Osthoff

Ohman

Pearl

Peterman

Preyer

Preysler

Prepper

Pressler

Purgold

Rauch

Ribs

Rennes

Rieger

Riedel

Rosenberg

Rohau

Rutzen

Rustov

Tappert

Tausig

Toeplitz

Till

Theurer

Ulbricht

Umlauf

Fisher

Von Feuerbach

Franc

Haase

Hellberg

Hippel

Hopp

Hoffman

Hoffmann

Christmann

Zapf

Zipser

Schauman

Schonau

Shetelikh

Schildknecht

Spindler

Spitta

Spurs

Schreyer

Schreyer

Stange

Strecker

Schultz

Schumacher

Schuppe

Erkert

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Our email address: [email protected]

German surnames

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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 and were borrowed from various sources. Some of them go back to ancient German onyms; many modern German names were borrowed from other peoples at different times. 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 a full name is required, 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. As in other Indo-European languages, they are composed of two parts and were designed to magically “influence” a person’s fate, 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 the 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),

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 origin 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 this 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 large cities in the West. In the north, in the province of Hanover, they were introduced only at the beginning of the 19th century. 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 it is customary to call domestic servants 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

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

Herr + first or last name
The overwhelming majority of modern German surnames were formed from personal names (Walter, Hermann30 most common German surnames
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 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
* Eikhenvald
* 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
* Tishbein

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

* Frisch
* Fuchs
* Furstenberg

* Haas
* Hagen
* Hackle
* 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

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 Latin major - “big”, official (elder, law enforcement officer, zemstvo chief, etc.), or from 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 (lena 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 derived from physical 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). There is only one such surname in the German list. 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).

The most common German surnames are Müller, Schmidt, Schneider, Fischer, Weber, Mayer, Wagner, Becker, Schulz, Hoffman.

In this article I will tell you where the most popular and common surnames come from and what they mean. And also - you will recognize the awkward and very funny surnames that some Germans bear.

Surnames began to appear only in the 9th century, and appeared in Germany in the 12th century. In the 15th century, most of the country’s people had already acquired this attribute, but only by 1875 did having a surname become mandatory.

Where did the Germans get their surnames from in the Middle Ages and how did they come up with them?

Most got their last name depending on what they did - what profession they had. These German surnames have survived to this day - this way you can understand who the ancestors of some Germans were in the distant Middle Ages. Of the fifty most popular surnames– 30 come precisely from the names of professions. The most common of them Muller- speaks of how important the miller’s profession was.

Other surnames from this paragraph: Schneider (tailor), Schmidt (blacksmith), Fischer (fisherman), Weber (weaver), Wagner (carriage maker), Becker (baker), Schultz (headman), Richter (judge).

Also, the Germans in those distant times were given surnames - starting from their appearance or character traits. So, now you can often hear such names as Mr. Little ( Klein), Mrs. Big ( Groß). My ENT is a very large and loud man whose last name is Klein, although something with the opposite meaning would suit him.

People were also called by the color of their hair or eyes: Mr. Black ( Schwarz), Mrs. Brown ( Braun). Curly people could be given a surname: Krause. Lefties – Link.

And some were given surnames based on their behavioral qualities: this category includes – Kuhn (brave), Fromm (pious), Gut (good), Böse (evil).

And even: Übel – disgusting, nauseating. Who would like such a surname, huh?

Recently there was a news report from Frau Neid). If translated, it turns out to be Mrs. Envy. That is, her ancestors were envious and they were taken like this and called them for many generations to come. It’s probably a shame... But still, Frau Übel is even more unpleasant.

Other Germans were given surnames based on where they lived. If you live in a mountainous area, call Berger, and if your house is on a plain, then Ebner. According to the same principle, the following surnames arose: Stein(this family is from the stone region), Busch(family from a region densely planted with bushes), Bach(and this one lives by the stream).

Another category of German surnames was given to people based on their origins. This is how surnames appeared - which sound the same as some cities, and even countries. For example, Mr. Hesse- comes from Hessen, and Mr. Bayer– from Bavaria, Pohl- from Poland.

Surnames ending in -bach, -berg, -burg, -dorf, -feld, -hagen, -hausen, -heim, -stein, -thal, -wald also indicated where the person was from.

Among German surnames there are also surnames with the names of animals. The most common of these is the surname Fuchs – which translates as “fox”. It is not known for certain how the first bearer received it. Perhaps he was as cunning as a fox, or perhaps he was red-haired. But there is evidence that says that given surname They were also given to hunters. The second most popular surname from the animal world is Hahn (rooster). Perhaps this was the name given to arrogant and proud people, but there is another version - a shortened version of the name Johannes, or maybe people came from the town of Hahn - which is in Germany.

I even imagined: this medieval guy was sitting and handing out names. This is a cool, creative and important profession.

He sits, thinking: oh, today there were already 40 Müllers, 30 Schwartzes, 10 Kleins, well, what surname should I give this one... For some reason I don’t like him, his eyebrows are furrowed, his mouth is twisted. Oh, I'm tired of him, go ahead and you'll be Böse. They probably didn’t teach you to smile...

In the picture below you will find the 20 most popular German surnames. Is yours among them?

German surnames: funny options

Among the German surnames, there are some very funny ones, some are ridiculous, and there are some that you definitely won’t envy their owners.

I recently bought a book Kuriose Name: and discovered a world of German surnames that I didn’t even know existed. The authors of the book, Anita and Martin Bubenheim, have been collecting material for their book for many years and have structured the material in a very funny way.

There are so many sections in this book: German surnames denoting parts of the body, and also sounding like some diseases, and a whole bunch of devilish surnames, both delicious and derived from the names of drinks...

Here are some of them:

Busenbaum - tree with breasts, Stolzhirsch - proud deer, Nachtwein - night wine, Droge - drug, Hackfleisch - minced meat, Geist - ghost, Stuhlreiter - chair rider, Bleibinhaus - stay at home, Urlaub - vacation, Fingerlos - fingerless, Mundlos - mouthless , Dämon - demon, Kastrat - castrato, Gutenmorgen - good morning, Leiche - corpse, Mörder - killer, Immertreu - always faithful, Pest - plague, Blaukopf - blue head, Zahnweh - toothache.

Can you imagine a dentist with the last name Toothache? And the kindergarten teacher is a Demon? Well, about Castratus... I’m generally silent 🙄

Here is a small part of weather names from this book:

The most interesting thing is that the vast majority of German surnames were invented before the 16th century, and only a few appeared later. Even such a funny surname as Pinkepank is not a tribute to fashion at all, it also comes from the distant Middle Ages. “Where did pink punks come from in the Middle Ages?” - you object. This is the first thing that comes to mind... It turns out that “Pinkepunk” is the sound that comes from hitting iron with a hammer. Probably, in the distant Middle Ages, in order not to produce thousands of Schmidts, they decided to add diversity.

Also, read the review about the Medieval Market - here