German Surnames
German names are used in Germany and other German-speaking areas such as Austria and Switzerland. See also about German names.
672 surnames in our directory
German
672Origin and MeaningSauber is a German surname that literally means "clean, tidy" (clean). Like many German surnames derived from personal qualities, it likely originated as a nickname for someone known for their neatness...
Etymology & OriginSauer is a German surname originating from the Middle High German word sūr, meaning "sour". It was originally used as a nickname for a bitter, embittered, or cantankerous person, reflecting a personal t...
Sauter is a surname of German origin, derived as an occupational name for a cobbler, from Latin sutor meaning "sewer" or "cobbler". Etymology The name Sauter shares its root with the French word saut ("jump") via Latin s...
Etymology and Origins Schäfer is a German occupational surname meaning "shepherd". It descends from the Old High German word scāphare, which referred to someone who herded sheep. The standard spelling Schäfer is used in...
Scheer is a German and Dutch surname. Its meaning and origins are intimately connected to the occupational name Scherer, which in Old High German derived from skeran "to cut." The name designated a cutter of cloth, a she...
Schenck is a German occupational surname, a variant of Schenk. The name originates from Middle High German schenke meaning "wine server" or "cup-bearer", derived from Old High German scenken ("to pour out"). Over time, i...
Schenk is a German and Ashkenazic Jewish occupational surname. It originates from the Old High German scenken “to pour out,” which evolved into Middle High German and Middle Dutch schenke meaning “wine server.” The name...
Scherer is a surname of German origin. It is an occupational name for a cutter of cloth or a sheep-shearer, derived from the Middle High German word scherer, from Old High German skeran "to cut". The name has been widesp...
Schindler is a German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word schindel, meaning "shingle". The name thus originally referred to a roof tiler or shingle maker. As an occupational surname, it follows...
Etymology and Meaning The German surname Schirmer is an occupational name derived from the Old High German word skirmen, meaning "to defend" or "to protect." Schirmer originally denoted a fencer or fencing master—that is...
Schlender is a German surname that likely originated as a nickname. Its exact etymology is uncertain, but it may derive from one of two possible sources.One possible root is the Middle High German word slinderen, meaning...
EtymologySchlimme is a German surname derived from the Middle High German word schlimm, meaning "bad," "crooked," or "awry." The name likely originated as a nickname for someone with a crooked or twisted physical feature...
Schlösser is a German variant of the occupational surname Schlosser, which literally means "locksmith." The name derives from the Old High German word sloz meaning "lock" and the suffix -er, denoting a person who works w...
Schlosser is a German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word sloz meaning "lock" or "enclosure," with the suffix -er denoting a person who works with locks. Historically, the name belonged to a loc...
Schmeling is a German surname, derived from Middle Low German smal, meaning “small” or “slender”. It originated as a nickname for a person of small stature, later becoming hereditary. The surname is found primarily in Ge...
Schmid is a German surname and a variant of Schmidt, which is derived from the occupational term for a metalworker or blacksmith. Like Smith in English, Schmidt and its variants are among the most common surnames in Germ...
Schmidt is a German occupational surname, the equivalent of the English Smith, meaning "metalworker" or "blacksmith." It derives from Middle High German smit ("smith"), ultimately from Old High German smitan ("to smite,...
Schmitt is a German occupational surname, deriving as a variant of the more common Schmidt. Both names originate from Middle High German "smit," meaning "smith" or "metalworker," and are therefore cognate with the Englis...
Schmitz is a common German surname, originating as a variant of Schmidt. While Schmidt is widespread throughout the German-speaking world, Schmitz is particularly associated with the Rhine area in western Germany. Like i...
Schneider is a German occupational surname meaning "tailor," derived from the Middle High German verb schneiden ("to cut"). The name originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe during the Middle Ages, when surnam...
Schneiders is a German occupational surname, variant of Schneider, meaning "tailor" from Middle High German schneiden "to cut." As a patronymic or plural form, it likely denoted 'descendants of the tailor' or a family of...
Schnell is a German surname that functions as a cognate of the surname Snell.EtymologyThe name derives from the Old English word snel, meaning "fast, quick, nimble." This adjective was often applied as a nickname for a s...
Schnoor is a German surname, derived as a variant of Schnur, which itself comes from the Old High German word snuor meaning "rope, cord". As such, it is an occupational name for a maker of rope, a ropemaker or cordwainer...
Schnur is a German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) metonymic occupational surname deriving from Middle High German snuor and modern German Schnur, meaning "rope" or "cord." It was originally used to denote a maker of rope or cor...
Schnyder is a Swiss German variant of the occupational surname Schneider, meaning "tailor" in German. The name derives from the Middle High German word snīdære, itself from snīden (“to cut”). In Switzerland, Schnyder is...
Scholz is a German surname, a variant of the more common Schulz. Both share the same origin: an occupational name derived from Middle High German schultheiße, meaning "mayor" or "judge." The term originally referred to a...
Schöttmer is a German surname of locational origin, indicating a person who came from Schötmar, a historical village that is now part of the city of Bad Salzuflen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name is formed by...
Schreck is a German surname derived from Middle High German schrecken, meaning "to frighten, to scare". It originated as a nickname for someone with a terrifying appearance or a frightful personality, likely rooted in ph...
Schreiber is a German occupational surname, etymologically the cognate of Scriven. It derives from the German verb schreiben (“to write”) combined with the agent suffix -er, literally meaning “writer,” “scribe,” or “cler...
Schreier is a German occupational surname derived from the Old High German word scrian, meaning "to shout" or "to yell." Originally, it referred to a town crier, a public official who made announcements in the streets. T...
Schröder 2 is a variant German surname, a cognate of the occupational name Schröter. While the standard Schröder spelling is common, Schröder 2 may reflect a regional or documentary variant, perhaps a misprint or consoli...
Schroeder is a North German variant of the occupational surnames Schröder 1 and Schröder 2. The name derives from the Middle Low German word schroden or schraden, meaning "to cut," referring primarily to a cloth cutter o...
Schroeter is a variant of the German occupational surname Schröter, which derives from Middle High German schrōten meaning "to cut, chop, or carry." The name originally referred to a Bierschröter or Weinschröter—a porter...
Schröter is a German surname with occupational origins, referring to a porter who loaded and transported heavy barrels of wine or beer. The name derives from the Low German verb schrōden ("to cut"), though its specific o...
Schubert is a German surname meaning "shoemaker" (from Middle High German schuochwürte). It is a variant of Schuchardt, belonging to a group of occupational surnames for cobblers. Besides Schubert, other variants include...
Schuchard is a German surname, a variant of Schuchardt. Like its related forms, it originated as an occupational name from Middle High German schuochwürte, meaning "shoemaker" or "cobbler." The name thus belongs to a bro...
Schuchardt is a German occupational surname with deep roots in the medieval craft economy. Originating from Middle High German schuochwürte, meaning “shoemaker” or “cobbler,” the name directly refers to the trade of maki...
Etymology and OriginSchuchert is a German surname that originated as a variant of Schuchardt. The root name, Schuchardt, derives from the Middle High German word schuochwürte, meaning “shoemaker” or “cobbler.” This occup...
Schuhart is a German surname, a variant of Schuchardt, which itself derives from Middle High German schuochwürte meaning “shoemaker, cobbler.” The occupational origin reflects the importance of the trade in medieval urba...
Schuhmacher is a German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German term schuochmacher, meaning "shoemaker." The name is closely related to the more common variant Schumacher, with both forms being used hist...
Etymology and MeaningSchüler is a German occupational surname that means "scholar" or "student." It derives from the Middle High German schuolære, which in turn comes from the Latin schola meaning "school." The name orig...
Schuler is a German surname with occupational origins. Variant of Schüler, its root, the name directly translates to "scholar" or "pupil" in English, derived from the German word Schüler, which itself comes from the Lati...
Schultes is a German surname that is a variant of Schulz, an occupational name derived from Middle High German schultheiße meaning "mayor, judge". The name historically referred to a village headman or local magistrate,...
Schultheis is a German surname that represents a variant of the more widespread name Schulz. As an occupational surname, it derives from the medieval title Schultheiß, a position akin to a mayor or judge in German-speaki...
Schultheiß is a German surname originating as a variant of Schulz, which itself derives from the Middle High German occupational term schultheiße meaning "mayor, judge." The name is closely related to Schultheiss and oth...
Schultheiss is a German surname, a variant of Schulz. Both derive from the Middle High German word schultheiße, meaning "mayor, judge". The name originates from the compound Schuld (debt) + heißen (to order), referring t...
Schultz is a German and Dutch surname that originated as a variant of Schulz.Etymology and OriginsBoth Schultz and Schulz derive from the Middle High German schultheiße, an occupational term meaning "mayor, judge". In me...
EtymologySchultze is a variant of Schulz, itself derived from the Middle High German term schultheiße, meaning "mayor, judge." The surname originally referred to an official who presided over a village or served as a loc...
Schulz is a common German surname originating from the Middle High German schultheiße, meaning "mayor, judge". The term referred to a local official who presided over a town or village, similar to a modern mayor or a mag...
Schulze is a German surname, a variant of the more common Schulz. Both names derive from the Middle High German word schultheiße, meaning "mayor" or "judge". Historically, the Schulze was a village magistrate or official...
Schumacher is a German occupational surname meaning "shoemaker". It is a variant of Schuhmacher, derived from Middle High German schuochmacher (same meaning). While both forms exist as surnames, Schumacher is the more co...
Etymology and Origin Schuster is a German occupational surname meaning "shoemaker" or "cobbler." It derives from Middle High German schuoch ("shoe") combined with suter, ultimately from Latin sutor ("sewer, cobbler"). Th...
Schüttmann is a German occupational surname meaning "watchman, guard," derived from Middle High German schützen meaning "to protect."EtymologyThe surname Schüttmann originates from the Middle High German verb schützen ("...
Schwangau is a German surname derived from the name of a municipality in the Ostallgäu district of Bavaria, Germany. The place name likely originates from Germanic elements combining Schwan (swan) with Gau (a historical...
Etymology and OriginSchwartz is a surname of German origin, meaning "black" (modern German schwarz [ˈʃvaʁts]). It derives from Old High German swarz, originally used as a nickname for someone with black hair or a dark co...
Schwarz is a German surname meaning "black" in modern German, derived from Old High German swarz. It originally described a person with black hair or a dark complexion, functioning as a descriptive nickname akin to the E...
Schwarzenberg is a German surname and toponym meaning "black mountain" (from schwarz "black" + Berg "mountain"). It began as a habitational name for someone living near a place called Schwarzenberg or an ornamental name...
Schwarzenegger is a German surname with geographic origins. It belongs to the category of habitational names, derived from a specific place or topographical feature. The name combines the Old High German elements swarz (...
Schweitzer is a German surname meaning "Swiss." It is a regional name for someone who came from Switzerland, derived from the country name Schweiz. EtymologyThe surname Schweitzer belongs to a category of German surnames...
Schwenke is a German surname of occupational or descriptive origin. The name is derived from the Middle High German verb swenken, meaning "to swing" or "to sway," which likely referred to someone who operated a swinging...