{"id":1771,"date":"2025-06-29T12:07:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771"},"modified":"2025-06-29T12:07:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:07:10","slug":"what-does-your-german-last-name-say-about-you-your-ancestors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771","title":{"rendered":"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors?"},"content":{"rendered":"

While there are some German names which have been changed, altered, or lost over time, many are still quite recognizable if you know the meaning of a few German words.\u00a0German surnames<\/a>\u00a0describe the looks, professions, or place\/ patriarch of a family. The names that your ancestors brought with them can say a lot about where you came from and what job your family was known for centuries ago!<\/p>\n

Physical Descriptors<\/h3>\n

Some German surnames come from physical descriptions that your ancestors had, either family traits that many family members all shared or distinctive traits of the patriarch. These traits would have been one of the family\u2019s hallmarks and thus they became known by them.<\/p>\n

Braun = brown (as in brown hair)<\/h4>\n

Gross = big<\/h4>\n

Kahler = bald<\/h4>\n

Klein = small<\/h4>\n

Krause = curly<\/h4>\n

Schwartzkopf = black haired<\/h4>\n

Weiss = white (as is pale skin or hair)<\/h4>\n

Patronymic Names<\/h3>\n

Many German names use \u201csen\/ son\/ sohn\u201d to denote that someone is a descendant of a patriarch. Other times \u201cs\u201d on the end of a given name would serve the same purpose and compose a new surname. Some given names were used as surnames with little or no change in the spelling, such as Buchard or Fritz.<\/p>\n

\n

Mendelsohn<\/h4>\n

Meyerson<\/h4>\n

Robertson<\/h4>\n

\u201cIn\u201d was sometimes added as an alternate suffix to denote a female of the family line.<\/p>\n

Atkins<\/h4>\n

Harkin<\/h4>\n

Meyerin<\/h4>\n

Names of Professions<\/h3>\n

Many German surnames are derived either from archaic professions or place names. If you have one of the names below, or a variant thereof, you probably had ancestors in one of these professions.\u00a0The suffixes \u201cer\u201d or \u201cman\u201d<\/a>\u00a0often go along with a professional surname.<\/p>\n

Bauer = farmer<\/h4>\n

Becker = baker<\/h4>\n

Hauer = butcher<\/h4>\n

Hoover = landowner (Huber and Hueber are variants on this name)<\/h4>\n

Jaeger = hunter<\/h4>\n

Metzger = butcher<\/h4>\n

Muller = miller<\/h4>\n

Schultz = policeman<\/h4>\n

Schafer = shepherd<\/h4>\n

Schmidt = smith (as in blacksmith)<\/h4>\n

Schneider = tailor<\/h4>\n

Schumacher = cobbler<\/h4>\n

Wagner = wainwright (or wagoneer)<\/h4>\n

Many German surnames are based on place descriptors or place names which refer directly to specific landmarks, like Schwarzenegger, meaning \u201cof the village Schwarzenegg.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berger = mountain<\/h4>\n

Bach\/beck = stream<\/h4>\n

Busch = shrub<\/h4>\n

Stein = rock<\/h4>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While there are some German names which have been changed, altered, or lost over time, many are still quite recognizable if you know the meaning of a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors? - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors? - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While there are some German names which have been changed, altered, or lost over time, many are still quite recognizable if you know the meaning of a...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-29T12:07:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"515\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/155dc4d808c160828fcd9ff7335c105e\"},\"headline\":\"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-29T12:07:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771\"},\"wordCount\":352,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771\",\"name\":\"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors? - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-29T12:07:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/155dc4d808c160828fcd9ff7335c105e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg\",\"width\":515,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?p=1771#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Latest News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/155dc4d808c160828fcd9ff7335c105e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a86cd8752229ad97936bb464601bbfa9d200522b01ff56360dd8def962fa5a80?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a86cd8752229ad97936bb464601bbfa9d200522b01ff56360dd8def962fa5a80?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a86cd8752229ad97936bb464601bbfa9d200522b01ff56360dd8def962fa5a80?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newsfeed99.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors? - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors? - Breaking News","og_description":"While there are some German names which have been changed, altered, or lost over time, many are still quite recognizable if you know the meaning of a...","og_url":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2025-06-29T12:07:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":515,"height":600,"url":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/#\/schema\/person\/155dc4d808c160828fcd9ff7335c105e"},"headline":"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors?","datePublished":"2025-06-29T12:07:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771"},"wordCount":352,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771","url":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771","name":"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors? - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-29T12:07:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/#\/schema\/person\/155dc4d808c160828fcd9ff7335c105e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/514249039_1293882335637374_435315392819074891_n.jpg","width":515,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?p=1771#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Does Your German Last Name Say About You & Your Ancestors?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/#website","url":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Latest News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/#\/schema\/person\/155dc4d808c160828fcd9ff7335c105e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86cd8752229ad97936bb464601bbfa9d200522b01ff56360dd8def962fa5a80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86cd8752229ad97936bb464601bbfa9d200522b01ff56360dd8def962fa5a80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86cd8752229ad97936bb464601bbfa9d200522b01ff56360dd8def962fa5a80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/newsfeed99.com"],"url":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1773,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771\/revisions\/1773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfeed99.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}