German surnames: meaning and origin. Male and female German surnames

In European countries, as in the rest of the world, a person's personality has been identified for many centuries by his name. An example is the son of God, Jesus, who at the time of his birth was called Emmanuel, and then called Yeshua. The need to distinguish different people from the same name required explanatory additions. So the Savior was called Jesus of Nazareth.

When the Germans received the names

German surnames appeared on the same principle as in other countries. Their education in the peasant environment of various lands continued until the XIX century, that is, in time coincided with the completion of state construction. The formation of a unified Germany required a more clear and unambiguous definition of who is who.

However, already in the 12th century there existed on the territory of the present Federal Republic of Germany, and at that time German names appeared for the first time. As in other European countries, the middle name is not used for identification of the person here. But at birth, the baby is given, as a rule, two names. You can address any person by adding a word that means belonging to the sex. Female German surnames are no different from masculine, just before them the prefix "frau" is used.

Types of German surnames

According to linguistic origin, German surnames can be divided into groups. The first and most common is formed from names, mostly male. This is due to the fact that the mass appropriation of names occurred in a fairly short (in the historical sense) period, and there was simply no time for the manifestation of any sophisticated fantasy.

Surnames derived from names

The simplest of them are those, at the creation of which they did not philosophize for a long time, but simply formed them on behalf of their first owner. They called a peasant Walter, so his descendants got such a name. We also have the Ivanovs, Sidorovs and Petrovs, and their origin is similar to the German Johann, Peters or Hermanns. In terms of historical background, such popular German surnames speak little, except that some old ancestor was called Peters.

Profession as the morphological basis of the surname

Somewhat less common are German surnames, which speak of the professional belonging of the first owner, one might say, the ancestor. But the diversity of this group is much broader. The most famous name in it is Müller, which means "miller" in translation. English analogue is Miller, and in Russia or Ukraine it is Melnik, Melnikov or Melnichenko.

The famous composer Richard Wagner could assume that one of his ancestors was engaged in cargo transportation on his own cart, the storyteller of Hoffmann's proverb owned his own household yard, and the great-grandfather of the pianist Richter was a judge. Schneiders and Schroeders once tailored, and the Singer loved to sing. There are other interesting German male names. The list continues with Fischer (fisherman), Becker (baker), Bauer (peasant), Weber (weaver), Zimmerman (carpenter), Schmidt (smith) and many others.

There was once during the war Gauleiter Koch, the same one who was blown up by underground partisans. In translation, his surname means "cook". Yeah, he made the porridge ...

Surnames as a description of appearance and character

Some male and possibly female German surnames come from the features of the appearance or character of their first owner. For example, the word "langa" in translation means "long", and it can be assumed that its original founder was very tall, for which he received the nickname. Klein (small) is his complete opposite. Krause means "curly", such an attractive hair feature of some Frau, who lived a couple of centuries ago, can be inherited. The ancestors of Fuchs, most likely, were cunning, like foxes. The ancestors of Weiss, Brown or Schwartz, respectively, were blondes, shatens or brunettes. Hartmans were noted for their excellent health and strength.

Slavic origin of German surnames

The German lands in the east always bordered on Slavic states, and this created conditions for mutual penetration of cultures. Famous German surnames with the endings "-its", "-ov", "-of", "-ek", "-ke" or "-ski" have a pronounced Russian or Polish origin.

Lutzov, Diesterhof, Dennitz, Modrov, Yanke, Radetsky and many others have long become familiar, and their total share is one-fifth of the total number of German surnames. In Germany, they are perceived as their own.

The same applies to the end of "-er", which occurred from the word "yar", meaning in the Old Slavonic language of man. Painter, tsellyar, fish, baker are obvious examples of such cases.

During the period of Germanization, many such names were simply translated into German, selecting the appropriate roots or replacing the ending with "-er", and now nothing reminds of the Slavic origin of their owners (Smolar-Smoler, Sokolov-Sokol-Falk).

Backgrounds-barons

There are very beautiful German surnames, consisting of two parts: the main part and the prefix, usually "background" or "der". They contain information not only about the unique features of appearance, but also about the famous historical events in which, at times active, the owners of these nicknames took part. Therefore, descendants are proud of such names and often remember their ancestors when they want to emphasize their own generosity. Walter von der Vogelweid - it sounds! Or here is von Richthoffen, the pilot and the "Red Baron".

However, not only former glory becomes the reason for such complications in writing. The origin of German surnames can be much more prosaic and speak about the locality in which a person was born. What, for example, does Dietrich von Bern mean? Everything is clear: from the capital of Switzerland his ancestors are born.

German surnames of Russian people

The Germans in Russia lived from the pre-Petrine times, populating ethnic areas on the whole, called "settlements." However, then called all Europeans, but with the great emperor-reformer, the influx of immigrants from the German lands was encouraged in every way. The process gained strength during the reign of Catherine the Great.

German colonists settled in the Volga region (Saratov and Tsaritsinskaya gubernias), as well as in Novorossia. A large number of Lutherans later adopted Orthodoxy and assimilated, but the German surnames remained with them. Most of them are the same as the migrants who came to the Russian Empire during the 16th-18th centuries, except for the cases when the clerks and clerks who made out the documents admitted mistakes and mistakes.

Surnames considered Jewish

Rubinshtein, Hoffmann, Eisenstein, Weisberg, Rosenthal and many other names of citizens of the Russian Empire, the USSR and the post-Soviet countries, many mistakenly consider Jewish. This is not true. However, there is some truth in this statement.

The fact is that since the end of the 17th century Russia has become a country where every enterprising and hard-working person could find his place in life. There was enough work for everyone, new cities were being built at an accelerated pace, especially in Novorossia, which was won from the Ottoman Empire. It was then that Nikolayev, Ovidiopol, Kherson and, of course, the pearl of the south of Russia - Odessa appeared on the map.

For foreigners coming to the country, as well as for their own citizens who wished to develop new lands, extremely favorable economic conditions were created, and political stability, supported by the military power of the regional leader, ensured that this situation would last for a long time.

Now Lustdorf (Merry little village) became one of the Odessa suburbs, and then it was a German colony, whose main occupation was agriculture, mainly viticulture. Beer was also able to cook here.

Jews, famous for their business savvy, trade vein and craft abilities, also did not remain indifferent to the call of the Russian Empress Catherine. In addition, musicians, artists and other people of art of this nationality came from Germany. The names of most of them were German, and they spoke Yiddish, which in its essence is one of the dialects of the German language.

At that time there was a "Pale of Settlement", which outlined, however, a fairly large and not the worst part of the empire. In addition to the Black Sea region, the Jews chose many areas of the present Kyiv region, Bessarabia and other fertile lands, having built small town-towns. It is also important that residence beyond the Pale of Settlement was compulsory only for those Jews who remained faithful to Judaism. By adopting Orthodoxy, everyone could settle in any part of a huge country.

Thus, the bearers of German surnames were Germans from two nationalities.

Unusual German surnames

In addition to these groups of German surnames originating from professions, hair color, features of appearance, there is one more, rare, but remarkable. And she speaks of the glorious qualities of character, good character and merriment, to whom the ancestors of a man bearing this name were famous. An example is Alisa Freindlich, worthily confirming the reputation of her ancestors. "Kind", "friendly" - this is how the German surname is translated.

Or Neiman. "New Man" - is not it beautiful? How great it is to please every day those around you, and yourself, with freshness and novelty!

Or the economic Wirz. Or Luther with pure thoughts and an open heart. Or Young is young, regardless of the number of years he lived.

Such interesting German surnames, the list of which can be continued indefinitely!