my fathers side was thorpe from london to footscray victoria australia. 24), and Schmid (No. An “umlaut” a “double dot” mark over a vowel, to indicate a more fronted or rounded pronunciation. On the other hand, 13.97% of Americans have a surname which occurs fewer than 100 times in the entire population. Updated data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Population Analysis & Evaluation Staff Adalbert, Low German) This is in response to the post of Gwynne Geyer. Another tricky thing about German last names: A last name could be what you would call a farm name. Ancestors from Southern Germany (Württemberg, Pfalz) came before immigrants from Saxony and Westphalia. Just before the civil war is when my relative came from Bavaria Germany to New York not sure what the original name was. Some of the most common last names that are unforgettable are Graf, Einstein, Becker, Kahn, Klose, Ballack, Bach, and so on. Jensen Ackles – actor. It’s Pennsylvania Dutch ? Gideon Adlon – actress. BRAND (1) German, English Derived from the Germanic given name BRANDO or its Old Norse cognate BRANDR. She asks, Could the name Davis be an American form or a German name? ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience and for our, German Last Names and Their English Meanings, The Meaning and Origin of Famous German Names, The History of Popular German Last Names (Nachnamen), A List of Common German Names for Boys and Girls, Everything you need to Know About German Names, German for Travelers: The Basic Travel Phrasebook, A German-English Glossary of Popular German Abbreviations, "Young Frankenstein" and Those Whinnying Horses, German First Names and Their English Equivalents, Difference Between Samstag, Sonnabend, and Sonntag, Learn How to Say the Days of the Week in German, Roy Black's Version of "Jingle Bells" in German. At least that is what the family tree book shows. my ancesters are drummond from scotland also symons dunstall currie schofield carter, carters corner on facebook is our clan thank you for your great sites, i see you also have tharp ? For instance, in eastern Pennsylvania, early-day officials who were Scotch-Irish translated German names ending in –bach to –baugh. Read on and find out more about the German surnames. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Even with less transparent names, a lingering knowledge about the meaning of the family name is handed down from generation to generation in most families. Discover the ethnic origin and meaning of last names. Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften):See your family names in the script of the era. In the table, the German name is listed on the left, with its origin (and explanation if needed) on the right. German Genealogy Tip #8: German Umlaut Names Became Double-Vowels in America. The latter groups arrived in the 19th century, thus their plentiful names follow different patterns. Some 50 million people there are primarily of German descent. 2, also appears as Schmitt (No. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. The meanings of German last names are those as defined initially when these names became surnames. It is a toponymic name referring to people who originally came from the city of Aachen in … Any ideas where it came from exactly? The list was initially created by searching for the most common last names in German telephone books. This is followed in popularity by the name Schmidt (along with variants such as Schmitt or Schmitz, this comes from the blacksmith's trade), with Meier coming in third place. The following tables include all surnames with over 0.001% frequency in the US population during the 1990 census. If a name was translatable, sooner or later family members would use such terms as Carpenter for Zimmermann, Taylor for Schneider, etc. Find out how surnames are ranked in popularity, how many people in the United States of America bear a particular name, and how the statistics change between 1990 and 2000 US Censuses. The German Genealogy Group (GGG) Surname List is a compilation of the surnames submitted by members of the GGG. October 8, 2014 Josiah Schmidt German Genealogy Tips. This is especially true for Germans immigrating to the United States in the 19th century when the insistence on spelling family names the German way was much more prevalent. The table below includes last names ranked 16,001-20,000 in America. Thomas is a common surname of English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, French, German, Dutch, and Danish origin.. How can a researcher know that behind such names are people of German origin? This is a list of the most common surnames (also called last names or family names) in North America. German last names originate from places and professions in Germany and far beyond, as a list of 100 of the most common German surnames shows. Your email address will not be published. But the name Byers is what they translated it to. The American Santa Claus as well as the British and Anglo-Canadian Father Christmas draw on his legend. For information on the Soundex, see the Soundex article in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. It may be used to contact other members who are interested in the same surnames or geographic regions (directly contacting other members of the GGG is a Members Only feature). Many attended German Evangelical churches in which the sermon was in German. Would love to know who came from Berman Germany in my family, Haag, Miller, schreiner and Bess Leon are names in my backgroun, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window). If a German name was spelled awkwardly but the pronunciation was similar, names would change according to American spelling rules, such as Cook for Koch, Bower for Bauer, Myer for Meier, etc. Carpenter and Weaver in English or Zimmermann and Weber in German tell us that the ancestor with whom the name originated was a carpen- ter or a weaver respectively. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Most of these Conversos fled to Turkey, some to West Africa, to the Caribbean Islands, South America and from there also to New Mexico, and a number of them settled in Germany and Poland. The meanings of German last names are those as defined initially when these names became surnames. Required fields are marked *. Their surnames often sound Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, or Arab – usually not German. To learn more, see Clifford Neal Smith’s article “Language and Onomastics” in Encyclopedia of German-American Genealogical Research, by Clifford Neal Smith and Anna Piszczan-Czaja Smith. Do you know what an “umlaut” is? The most common German surname, Müller (miller), is shared by around 700,000 people. Ben Affleck – actor and filmmaker. Thank you for your time in reading my reply. Top surnames according to the 2010 U.S. Census may be found here. Then there was Friedrich Hoffmann, the physician to Therefore, the German name Strasbach became Strasbaugh, and Richardsbach became Rickbaugh. A famous bearer of this surname was the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). I found somewhere (not sure where) that it was Bauer. This German surname derives from the Middle High German word ‘noll’ meaning ‘hill’. Because of this, German last names can be found throughout bordering countries, including Poland, Austria, France and Spain. If a German moved onto someone else's farm, it was not uncommon to change his last name to that of the farm. The Davises were born, ca 1790s, in Charles Co., MD perhaps they were Germans who had migrated down from the Pennsylvania Dutch area? I wondered that, too. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Müller, Weber, or Schäfer) or places. Where variations of a spelling of a surname occurred, those monikers are listed as separate names. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. For instance, Schmidt, which is ranked No. Many German surnames are self-explanatory as they were derived from people’s jobs. The largest single ethnicity/ancestry group in America is German. There are some people in Germany whose last names are more popular than their first names. Occasionally, surname charts surface that we cannot contribute to any one individual. His American name was Uno Byers. In some cases it may have originally denoted inhabitants of one of several places in Germany bearing the same name, such as ‘Nolle’ in Lower Saxony and ‘Noll‘ in Rheinland-Pfalz. If a name was translatable, sooner or later family members would use such terms as Carpenter for Zimmermann, Taylor for Schneider, etc. The table below includes the 1000 most common last names in America. Achen. Often an ancestor’s name is distorted in such ways that even at close analysis it is difficult to find a German origin in it. They all trace their lineage back to one couple whose name was DAVIS. Melchior Hofmann was a visionary religious leader in northern Germany in the early 16th century (he was to have some 20th century descendants, Karl and Nicholas von Hoffman, in America). Pronunciation : case sensitive: see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds; sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: *lee matches names which end with the sound lee _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation A service provided by, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. German surnames Anglicization of family surnames occurred frequently among children of German citizens born in the anglosphere, notably to German immigrants in America. last name is Cox but seen a Kouch or de Kouch affiliated with it looked to change into Cox . But the first name that has been passed down was J Jonathan or Jon for short. It is therefore the policy that these charts be listed as commissioner unknown. And have a great day. According to the above table, from the 2000 Census, 17.11% of Americans have a surname among the top 100. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Müller, Weber, or Schäfer) or places. This is an Ashkenazi Jewish last name of German or Old English origins with the meaning … Actors. in German studies. German Surnames in America BECKER - BAKER ZIMMERMANN - CARPENTER SCHWARZ - BLACK KLEIN - LITTLE “Wherever there was an obvious near-equivalent in English to the German surname, American officials were likely to use it, with or without the permission of the bearer; thus, Schmidt-Schmied-Schmitz usually was recorded as Smith, Müller-Möller became Miller, Braun became Brown.” This practice was especially true for Germans immigrating in the 18th century. This list is different than one showing popular German surnames with their English translations. The meaning of surnames and linking them to traceable lines in ancestral homelands remains a complex issue for the family historian. Thus, when interpreting a family name, the preservation of the original pronunciation should be kept in mind. HORN English, German, Norwegian, Danish From the Germanic word horn meaning "horn" . Ingrid Bauer, who is fluent in German, has been teaching and tutoring the German language since 1996. Bezold (* Betzold, Betzoldt..), Petzoldt (* Petzold, Pezold) Beyer, Beier, Bayer, Baier Bezzenberger (cf. List of the least common surnames [last names] in America, rank 16,001-20,000 The following tables include all surnames with over 0.001% frequency in the US population during the 1990 census. AHSGR is dedicated to making this research available to those who are researching these lines. The acronyms are noted because you won't find the translations for these names in standard online translators or even most German dictionaries. With an estimated size of approximately 44.2 million in 2018, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the United States Census Bureau in its American Community Survey. 26). Casey Affleck – actor and director. Acker. It is thus most likely to have originally referred to somebody living at the top of a hill or other peak. The above-mentioned author has a rule of thumb: “When a German surname in America appears in the same form as it would in a modern-day telephone [directory] of a German city, one can usually be certain it pertains to [immigration to] America since the Civil War.” Names like Österreicher would be written Oesterreicher, and Dürr would be spelled Duerr. This was an occupational name for one who carved objects out of horn or who played a horn, or a person who lived near a horn-shaped geographical feature, such as a mountain or a bend in a river. It derives from the medieval personal name, of Biblical origin, from Aramaic תאומא t'om'a, a byname meaning 'twin'. Surname A-G. Surname H-K. Surname L-R. Surname S-Z. The search for the correct spelling should include a search according to National Archives Soundex Rules. I have many ancestors in the 1800s with different English-sounding surnames in the DC area. Charts by Village. BROCKHAUS German Occupational hereditary surname for a person who was physically powerful, derived from Old German brock which may refer to persons with a stocky or strong build. If you have any knowledge of Bauer being a surname or other leads I could follow I would be great full!!! The author Clifford Neal Smith gives some suggestions of what to look for when tracing German immigrants in the United States. What about the last name:Makin! German Americans (German: Deutschamerikaner, pronounced [ˈdɔʏ̯tʃʔameʁiˌkaːnɐ]) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. The acronyms OHG and MHG stand for Old High German and Middle High German, respectively. Does that seem right. She has a teaching degree and an M.A. Your email address will not be published. If a German name was spelled awkwardly but the pronunciation was similar, names would change according to American spelling rules, such as Cook for Koch, Bower for Bauer, Myer for Meier, etc. Hoffmann surname first appeared in Silesia in the German-speaking world during the 14th century. Or derived from Old German "Brook" or "Brauk," for people near a marshy landscape, common in northern regions. Few of the latter are on the following list, but examples include Brinkmann, Berger, and Frank. BRAND (2) German From Old High German brant "fire", originally a name for a person who lived near an area that had been cleared by fire. © 2020 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. His last name is Cox but seen a Kouch or de Kouch affiliated with it looked to change his name! 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