One of my grandmothers had the last name of Steinberg before she got married. Her last name didn’t even make the list of the top fifty most common German surnames. She spoke a little German, and I remember to this day several of the phrases she often used. In other words, even if your surname is not one of the top ten most common German surnames, you might still have some German heritage.
All surnames have their own, specific, meanings behind the name. Sometimes, surnames refer to the way a person looks. Others are patronymic, which means they derive from a the first name of a father, or patriarch. Or, they might be matronymic, which indicates that the name came from the first name of a mother, or matriarch. Many German surnames, however, often refer to the kind of profession that an ancestor was employed in.
The most common German surname is Müller. The English equivalent might be Miller, which is a name that refers to an occupation. A miller is someone who works in a mill that grinds wheat into flour. Number two is Schmidt. This is similar to the English surname Smith, which refers to the job of blacksmith or metalsmith. Number three is Schneider. In German, the word “schneider” means “tailor”. A tailor is a person who cuts cloth and sews it into clothing. Schneider may also have once referred to a person who was a woodcutter.
Number four is Fischer. This refers to a person who catches fish, and is the German word for “fisherman”. Number five is Meyer. This surname derives from the Middle High German word “meier”, or the Latin word “maior”, which meant “greater” or “superior”. The word meier once meant a person who was a steward, bailiff, or overseer. Later, it meant a person who was a tenant farmer. If the surname is spelled Meier, it means “a person who is a dairy farmer”. Number six is Weber, which comes from the Middle High German word “wëber”. This name comes from the job of a weaver, someone who takes string and weaves it into clothing, blankets, and other items.
Number seven is Schulz. It comes from the Middle High German word “schultheize”, which refers to the headman of a village, or lord of a manor. Number eight is Wagner. This is another occupational name. In this case, Wagner means a person who makes carts, wagons, or carriages. Number nine is Becker, which means “baker”. This name refers to a person who either was employed at baking bread, or at baking tiles that were made from clay. And, finally, number ten is the surname Hoffmann, which refers to a farmer who is the owner of his own farm and land.
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