German Last Names and Their Meanings You will find it in Greece, Cyprus and countries of the Greek diaspora, such as the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia and in the Scandinavian countries. "Cause if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it, if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it" Yes, sure! Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Category:French_surnames_from_German&oldid=63603934, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. In the Baltic countries, people tend to laugh at the Estonians, whereas in Balkan countries, they do jokes about the Bosnians. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or consultation. Moulin - An occupational name for a miller or mill worker. A patronymic coming from the given name of Bernard. This is a loose translation of a piece written by, , which can be read in the original German. After all, whether you have visited France and fell in love with the experience, have French ancestry that you'd like to highlight, or have a soft-spot for all things Frenchmusic, film, culture, language, etc., there are many reasons why French surnames could make their way onto your own baby name or pet name list. I was surprised about the Irish. French film director Franois Truffaut was one of the founders of the French New Wave movement. Dont even try to type Rossiin an Italian search engine! Brandt Meaning: Burn or burnt. Martin - Derived from Mars, the Roman God of War and fertility, Martin. In the following centuries, France was ruled by a series of monarchs until the French Revolution overthrew the monarchy during the 18th century. There were even childrens songs celebrating his dict I mean, leadership. Three suffixes which often indicate a German occupational name are: -er (one who), commonly found in names such as Fischer, one who fishes; -hauer (hewer or cutter), used in names such as Baumhauer, tree chopper; and -macher (one who makes), found in names like Schumacher, one who makes shoes. It means priest. German surnames of French origin. Murphy is the most common name in Ireland, especially in the county of Cork. Common places used as surnames include Dibra, Laci, Shkodra, Prishtina, Delvina, Koroveshi and Permeti, as well as the famous Frasheri surname of the Frasheri family. The name derives from the Latvian word brzs which means birch tree, with the i originally being a diminutive suffix used to form patronymics before finally becoming a simple surname ending. 8. Bernard - Strong or brave like a bear. 1938. The term "Alsace-Lorraine" ("Elsass-Lothringen" in German) refers to a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian war. In Germany Klein is primarily found in: North Rhine-Westphalia, where 28 percent live, Rhineland-Palatinate, where 13 percent live and Baden-Wrttemberg, where 12 percent live. A surname used for someone who lived near a church or chapel. German surnames developed from four major sources: A variation on locality names, farm names in Germany are names which came from the family farm. Descriptive: These names describe a physical quality o trait. Petrovi is a Slavic surname, common in many countries with Slavic populations. If you are strolling through the streets of Paris, gazing upon one of the many museums or historical landmarks the country is well known for, you will likely say "Bonjour" to a few fine folks with . For example, ask (spear), beraht (bright, radiant), degan (warrior), fruma (benefit, advantage, blessing), hagen (fenced place), wig (fight, struggle), or witu (wood). For example, the last name "Petit" meaning "small" was a common nickname of Catalan origins. By the 18th century almost all Ukrainians had family names. Goldmann Origin: Ashkenazi Meaning: Gold. This page was last edited on 26 August 2018, at 22:32. Due to immigration from across the Pyrenees, in fact, Garcia is now also the 14th most common surname in France. "What Does Your German Last Name Mean?" The Portuguese surnames have the prefixes Da with Dos while the Spanish last names have Las, De, De las, as well as Del before them. The Zu prefix suggests that a family is still resident at a particular estate or region, as opposed to having simply descended from that place. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Brisbois French Today only, get free access to Germany, Hesse Marriage Index, 1849-1931 and Germany, Hesse Birth Index, 1874-1911! This ones got us stumped: because Icelanders do not have surnames at all, but rather patronymics reflecting the first name of the immediate father (or mother) of a child, rather than the historic lineage. ", Intelligence must run in the family with a last name that means "wise counselor. 1869 Argentina 1.8 millon (1.6 MM Arg born) 1872 Brazil 9.8 millon (9.6 MM Bra born) Still RGS and SC score similarly to Pampa which is a lot. This family would likely be strong and determined, as their last name means "enduring. (required) This research takes time and patience. So, in terms of German surnames, the appearance of Von in a name can often indicate that the bearer is of noble origin. Derived from the common French first name Pierre. Some interested parties could be making a list of future baby or pet names, looking for a unique way to tie-in a French last name as either a first or middle name option. In the Land of Honey,3,3% of the population share the same surname Borg(13,200 people). Anouilh Derived from the word anull that is the Catalan language dominantly used in southern France, Anouilh means 'slow worm'. or on the right hand? _____ SURNAMES FROM FRANCE Yep, its a weird but old tradition there. It means large or tall. The most prevalent surname in Slovakia is Horvath which indicates that the persons ancestors were from Croatia! https://www.thoughtco.com/german-surnames-meanings-and-origins-1420789 (accessed March 5, 2023). Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's Les Misrables. Simon - A Hebrew name that means "to hear.". Here we bring you the choicest list of German last names for your child. United States (US) Wisconsin (WI) Prairie du Sac/Sumpter Twp. This legendary surname, which means sea battler, translated to Gaelic as MacMurchadh and OMurchadh (descendent of Murchadh), derives from the first name Murchadh or Murragh. The thing which makes them different from traditional surnames, however, is that when a person moved onto a farm, he would change his name to that of the farm (a name which usually came from the farm's original owner). There are a few institutions in Germany dedicated to researching the backgrounds of German names. By the way, the second most common surname in Romanian is Popescu (meaning the son of Popa) this is because -escuand -(e)anu are the most common name suffixes for Romanian names. It is the most common Swedish family name, followed by Andersson the most famous of which being Neo in the Matrix movie. Madeleine is a writer from somewhere near Manchester, England. You will find it with different spellings in surnames like Hodja, Hoda (Slovak), Hoca (Turkish), Hodi (Bosnian), Hotzakis (Greek), Hoxha (Albanian) or Al-Khawaja. Most Popular French Surnames on FamilyEducation: Allard, Beaumont, Deschamps, Fournier Guillaume Lambert, Tremblay. One example of this is Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, or to give him his full title Karl Theodor Maria Georg Achaz Eberhardt Josef Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg. They were often documented as "a young girl of nine", "the prettiest woman in town", "the rich woman", "the reverend of" Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/german-surnames-meanings-and-origins-1420789. Someone with this last name would have likely come from a family who lived near a church. An individual might carry this name if their family lived in an area near an oak tree. This would typically refer to someone who was from the village of Marseille. Thomas - A name of Biblical origin, sometimes meaning "twin.". In this post, we will explore the origins of German family names, how they developed, and how to research the surnames in your own family. The prefix Jens- refers to the biblical name Ioanne in Danish. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French bergier (Late Latin berbicarius, from berbex 'ram'). Because of this, many names in Germany are derived from all the languages of eastern and southeastern Europe, such as Polish, Yiddish, Czech, French, Baltic languages (Old Prussian, Lithuanian, and Latvian), Belarusian, Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and so on. Id Like to know, which ancestory has more German ancestory to its surname: My great great grandmother was a Streiger. Perhaps you could use Von with your current surname, or as a prefix for the place you were born, or indeed anywhere you like (subject to the legal requirements in your country.). This surname referred to someone who lived near a spring or well. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Mller, Weber, or Schfer) or places. Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Hessen, Hessen-Nassau, Franconia, the Palatinate, Braunschweig, and Baden were other preferred areas of settlement. "What Does Your German Last Name Mean?" So manywritersshare the name Hansen, it makes it quite complicated for Norwegians to find their favourite books in libraries especially ahead of their weird Easter tradition of readingcrime books. This however would not explain its lack of occurrence in Sicily itself. While Von or Zu can often indicate a history of aristocracy, or at least be a clue to a link to a noble lineage, it is not always an accurate indicator of aristocratic status. There are in France approximately 240,000 people with the surname Martin. Leblanc. Just as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hoxha, pronounced Hodja,is derived from the title Persian title of Khawaja. Here is the list of some common last names from Austria with their meanings. 140 German Surnames or Family Names With Meanings Germany has for long been called Das Land der Dichter und Denker, i.e, the land of poets and thinkers. It sounds like a clichname for a baddy in a hollywoodmovie where you would expect conspiracies, spies and apocalyptic events but its not! Here are some German family surnames for you. Sometimes you will only see the Von (or Zu) aspect of a German surname when the full title is given. The most popular surname in Romania and Moldova is Popa. There are names that correspond with types of location, specific employment, character traits, patronymics (related to the first name of a father or ancestor), and so on. "There is at the present time (June, 1893) in the Townland of 'Deerpark' near Portarlington, a colony of men of pure Huguenot descent." "Mr. Someone with this last name was likely from a family who lived near a vineyard. Use the list below to find your last name and learn about its meaning and origins. Lang/Lange/Long Meaning: A very tall person. This job-related surname was connected to the grower and/or seller of pears. German surnames from French (5 e) G German surnames from Georgian (1 e) German surnames from Germanic languages (5 c, 0 e) German surnames from given names (40 e) el:German surnames (2 e) H German surnames from Hebrew (2 e) German surnames from Hungarian (1 e) I German surnames from Indo-European languages (4 c, 0 e) Almost 86,500 people in Netherlands bear the name De Jong, which represents 0.53% of the population. It is not tied to any nationality and it derives from Petar, which is equivalent to Peter in English. Levi/Levy Origin: Hebrew It was only in the 19th century that surnames became hereditary. Hesse , or the Palatine (Palatinate or Pfalz region), was the area of highest 18 th Century German . Bauer (Austrian Origin), meaning "Peasant, Farmer". Many traditional German last names are used internationally today, so much so that your surname may be rooted in German without you knowing! Its less common in northern and western Slovenia and in the Gorika region on the border with Italy, it is quite rare. Few of the latter are on the following list, but examples include Brinkmann, Berger, and Frank. 1854. Many sources derive the surname primarily from Grub, a place name common in southern Germany and Austria. The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. Powell, Kimberly. Among them are: These names originated from descriptions of the persons appearance, character, habits, and so on. This occupational name would generally apply to a locksmith. Achen Abel The patronymic name means 'noble one' and is derived from the Old German personal name 'Albrecht.' 2. Facebook: NobilityTitles.Privacy & legal notice. Fundamental All languages German Terms by semantic function Names Surnames From French, German surnames of French origin. From then on, all name changes were recorded, making it easier to trace family history. 4. Archambeau This unique-sounding French last name means 'bold' or 'daring'. Due to Italian emigration, it is also very common in other countries, including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and France. The De Jong family name has a rich history which originates back many generations and has been popularised by many important figures in Dutch history. Prof. Dr. Udolph is a name researcher, father of 4, and a tenured professor at Leipzig University, and he is the most sought-after expert today when it comes to the interpretation of names. Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Category:German_surnames_from_French&oldid=50207290, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Following the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of France, conquering much of Europe. Hungarian surnames, just like in other countries, often refer to a profession such as Smith, Tailor or Miller. Horvat is the most frequent surname in Croatia. -- Amsterdam : Scheltema & Holkema ; Polak & Van Gennep, 1967. A topographical name corresponding to someone who lived near a bridge. Approximately 16 million refugees and displaced persons moved to Germany after 1945, and many of their names are derived from other languages and dialects. While the von Braun name and noble connection was inherited from his fathers side of the family, Wernher von Brauns mother had an equally impressive lineage, reportedly dating back to medieval European royalty, including kings of France, Denmark, Scotland and England. For example, they might have called him Schneider because he was a tailor. Victor Hugo is one of the most renowned French writers of all time, with works including Les Misrables, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This location-based name referred to a household living on the corner of the street or at the edge of a settlement. Surname Sect - Grave NON-ARABIC 7-5,8-71,9-25,12-47a ILLEGIBLE 4-49,7-75,8-33,9-47, 12-23,12-65,14-83 ABABURKO 7-41 ADAMCZYK 5-15 ALARIE 5-34 . Lithuanians surely know how to practise sport! Linklater. During the Viking era, family names as we currently understand them weren't in use. Most Ukrainian surnames (and surnames in Slavic languages in general) are formed by adding possessive and other suffixes to given names, place names, professions and other words. Accola. This location-based name typically corresponded to someone living near an abbey or chapel. indexes from Hesse, for example, surnames were used for the entire family. It originates from the word Horvat an older version of the word Hrvatused to describe a Croat. In 1944, the Yugoslav Communist Party introduced a plan to give all Macedonian surnames the suffix -ski (feminine -ska), allegedly to weaken their sense of identity. Surname Origin French Last Names French Last Names FamilyEducation Staff Updated: January 22, 2023 Find your French last name and learn about its meaning and origins. Untranslatable words are actually the essence of European diversity. There are plenty of other resources for researching German family names and plotting their distribution, many of which can be found among MyHeritages German historical records. He has researched more than 10,000 names in the past ten years. Powell, Kimberly. Croatians just call themselves Croats! 1. The etymology of surname comes from Middle English and the Anglo-Saxon/ Old French word "surnum" and "surnoun," which translates to "above-or-over name.". Man has re-created Europe in his own image.. 6. And no! And in France, the name Schmidt is the 484 th popular surname with an estimated 9,229 people with that name. get in touch using the enquiry form in the sidebar, contact our Geneva office directly between 10.00-19.00, Monday to Friday on, I consent to my data being stored in line with your, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F026160-0002A / Grfingholt, Detlef / CC-BY-SA 3.0. This was their name for the land they took from France, consisting of almost all of Alsace and one quarter of adjacent Lorraine. The most common way to explore a German surname is to create a distribution map using Telefon-CDs CDs that contain phone book information, including the last names of people in specific households. Kimberly Powell is a professional genealogist and the author of The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy. Where does the surname WIELAND derive from? According to Jrgen Udolph there are in total about 700 000 German named Mller. 5 of the Most Unusual German Surnames (with English Translations) Bierhals - beer-throat Durchdenwald - through-the-forest Handschuh - glove Nachtnebel - night fog Trinkenschuh - drink-shoe Most Popular German Last Names on Family Education: Abbas, Altergott, Adler Find your last name and learn about its meaning and origins. It is shared by over 200,000 people in these countries. An occupational name for a farm bailiff, it's familiar in pop culture thanks to the Harry Potter character Hermoine Granger. Not huge: but not bad for such a tiny country. This old French surname has Germanic origin, and means 'noble'. I would like to know about the meaning etc. This French surname is an occupational surname for barber derived from old French name barbier. With three Michelin stars, French chef Hlne Darroze is a force in the culinary world. Almost 7,000 Estonians share the family name of Ivanov. We still see examples of this custom in modern times. Also, ever wondered why the most common surnames in some Balkan countries actually designate the neighbours nationality? So, without further ado, say "bonjour" to this mix of common and unique French oh-la-last names that are sure to inspire! This French surname means "fierce warrior.". But who are we laughing at? The name was often given to someone who came to a new city, or a convert to Christianity. In the history, where turkification was pursued at an aggressive pace and intensity, such as in cosmopolitan Istanbul or in the eastern provinces, last names including the term Turk (Trk) or even pure turk (ztrk) were imposed on non-Turks. Robert Today "French" and "Franois" are also popular French last names in their own rights. People are interested to learn not only the origins of family names, but also first names, place names, and names of natural landmarks. ", Related: 50 German Last Names and Surnames with Meanings. What is the history of the name LANGENHAHN? It is the most common family name in Germany and Switzerland, and the fifth most common surname in Austria. French actress Audrey Tautou is especially well-known for her starring role in Amlie. 1. 3. List Of Popular German Last Names Or Surnames 1. This is the most common surname in Flanders but only the 67thname in French-speaking Wallonia and the second name in the city of Brussels after Janssens. Dimitrov is a common surname in both Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. Names that contain the vowel clusters ue and oe indicate umlauts (Schroeder -- Schrder), providing a clue to German origins. ThoughtCo. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In the distant past, individuals were only given a first name. In this instance, zu is the German word for at, and suggests a noble family being resident at a particular place, usually a country estate, family seat or inherited region. Since 2001, the number of people in Denmark with the surname Jensen started to decline as people changed to more unique surnames. One glamorous example of this practice is Mitzi Gaynor, the American actress popular in the 1950s who appeared in classic Hollywood films such as South Pacific and Theres No Business Like Show Business. Another variation of this name is "LeBlanc.". Birch trees even inspired one of the most beautiful European fairy tales. Top 50 GermanSurnames and Their Meanings. Many French last names have a Germanic origin due to the frequent land changes between the French and Germanic people through the centuries. FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 1982), an american football player of Lithuanian descent, Jonas Kazlauskas (b. On the sunny side of the Alps, there are approximatively 12,000 people named Novak. Whats interesting about these names is that they contain old German words that are no longer in use. Virgin IslandsU.S. It was later amalgamated with the English and German Synagogue in 1884 (see the Jewish records on this site). But these words might be retained in names such as place names and names of rivers. Otherwise a shortened form of Gilmartin or McMartin ; sometimes also spelled Martyn. The name "France" comes from the Latin word Francia, which literally means "land of the Franks" or "Frankland". A local surname refers to someone who currently or once lived in the region of Lorraine in Northeastern France. Be aware that there were thousands of German witches executed during the Medieval and Early Modern Era whose names were never recorded. This is not always easy for German names, particularly those among the Sorbian and Danish minorities. Patronymic/Matronymic: Patronymic names are when a father's first name is used as a surname for descendants and family members. One reason many German surnames feature the Von or Zu prefixes is that the right to include them in a surname was one of the few remaining aristocratic privileges allowed when the nobility was abolished in Germany in 1919. Auer (German Origin), meaning "Dweller near a Marsh, Living by a Water Meadow." 3. A topographical reference to a family who lived in an area with roses. A son and a father might have different surnames. Fax Number: +41 225 181 369 Ren Descartes was a French philosopher who invented analytic geometry. Or how about a friends? A topographical surname meaning "from the garden. Powell, Kimberly. It's almost impossible to separate this last name from the infamous, influential French painter, Oscar-Claude Monet. Hartmann and Reinart are strong German last names, with Hermann, Klingermann, and Wolf also known as feisty options. 2. To refer to someone from a certain place in German, it was a custom to simply add the suffix -er to the name of the place, so, for example, a person from Kln is a Klner. By the time periods covered by MyHeritages birth and marriage indexes from Hesse, for example, surnames were used for the entire family. So if your last name sounds German, it doesn't mean you actually are! For example, the current members of the British royal family style their surnames Windsor, in reference to the House of Windsor whose family seat (or at least one of) is Windsor Castle. and it even has a female version: Papadopoulou. For the most part, the name was chosen by people who knew the person and who used the name to describe him. Open an old phone book in France, and you will find, if you thumb through to the letter M, pages and pages of the same family name. There are two noble Nowak lines of Polish origin: the Bohemian barons from 1660 (Anatol Nowak, archbishop of Wrocaw, died in 1456) and Antoni and Jzef Nowak in Masovia known from 1750 they were Lieutenant Generals in the Polish Army during Napoleons Campaign. Laurent - A common first name and surname in France, Laurent once referred to people from Laurentium, a Roman city. Names with the vowel cluster ei (Klein) are also mostly German. This is the most common form of German family name and can often be identified by its ending, such as -er (as in Geiger, one who played the violin), -hauer (hewer or cutter, such as Baumhauer, a tree cutter), -macher (one who makes, as in Fenstermacher one who makes windows), and -man/-mann (as in . Geographical: A geographical surname indicates a person's surroundings or hometown. These typical German names are full of history and tradition, so keep reading to learn more about each one. The name is derived from the Slavic word for new (novin Czech), meaning something similar to new man, newcomer or stranger in English. This patronymic is one of the most common French surnames. Aigner (Austrian Origin), last name referring to the tribal conflicts in ancient times. Australia ranks Schmidt as 328 th with 10,912 people. This surname has a positive connotation, meaning "fair" or "good faith. Many French surnames have noticeable characteristics such as beginning with Des-or Ch-, containing the letters au or ain together, featuring double letters, ending with -er, etc. A Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue was founded in Kingston. For example, German surnames, introduced into the Quebec population by German mercenaries who were recruited by the British army during the American revolution, were so different from the French . The use of last names in France, like in much of Europe, didn't become necessary until the 11th century, to differentiate between people with the same first name. naming characters in upcoming novels or screenplays, German Last Names and Surnames with Meanings, Italian Last Names and Surnames with Meanings. Europe is so well gardened that it resembles a work of art, a scientific theory, a neat metaphysical system. France is one of the oldest countries in the world with a history rich with revolutions, writers, philosophers, and musicians. This writer is a part of the FamilyEducation editorial team. Is there anyway you can help me out? This guide will teach you to translate given names, surnames, and place names from German to French and vice versa. Text is in German and English. Most people use the CD collections from around 19902000, because from that point forward, people began using cell phones, and the listings dont contain any information about their place of residence. It is, in one way or another, derived from the root Grub-, which refers to things related to digging and in general to holes in the ground. From around year AD 870 to 1648, the . In some regions of Germany where the nobility was less of an important feature of the emerging culture, some non-noble families adopted and used the prefixes of Von or Zu. Dubois - A name given to people who live in the woods. This is because names are often based on words that come from Middle High German or Middle Low German, which are no longer spoken in Germany. While the name Kazlauskas was probably mostly brought from Poland via migration, there is also a possibility that it was adopted by some Lithuanians who had the word for a goat in their original surname during the era of polonisation.