German Last Names

This article will not only provide you with an alphabetical list of the common German last names but will also give you more information about the same. Read on and find out more about the German surnames.

There are some people in Germany whose last names are more popular than their first names. Some of the most common last names that are unforgettable are Graf, Einstein, Becker, Kahn, Klose, Ballack, Bach, and so on. In Germany, last names, or surnames are usually referred to as Nachname, and each of them have been derived either from the person’s profession, or on the basis of the person’s physical characteristics. Here are a few interesting facts about German surnames.

✦ Usually after marriage, the wife drops her maiden name and uses her husband’s name. However after 1990, a law was passed which stated that the couple, or rather the wife could keep her maiden name instead of her husband’s name.

✦ If one of the partners in a German couple decides to keep both the husband’s as well as the wife’s name, they can use both separated by a hyphen. There can be a double name or a Doppelname. However, only one person can have the double name.

✦ Children of parents carrying Doppelname  can use either their father’s last name (most common practice), or their mother’s maiden name but not the double name.

✦ The couple could also have one name as their marriage name or Ehename. However, they could either use the last name of the husband, or the wife.

List of German Last Names

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Common German Last Names and Meanings

Classification of Names

German surnames were derived from four main sources, and each of these are described as below.

Geographical Locations

As the name suggests, some people were named on the basis of the place they came from; Peter von Berlin stands for Peter who came from Berlin, while Ralph Frankfurter stands for Ralph who was from Frankfurt.

Physical Features

Some people were also given surnames on the basis of their physical features, like ‘short’, ‘tall’, ‘fat’, or ‘small’. For example, a person with brown hair was usually referred to as ‘Braun’, while a person who was short was referred to as ‘Klein’.

Profession

Last names were also given on the basis of the profession of the person. If a person was a baker by profession, then he was given the surname Becker, and if the person was a tailor, then Schneider was the surname given.

First Name of Parents

Although giving surnames on the basis of this category was not common in Germany as in other parts of Europe, some people were referred to on the basis of their father’s or mother’s name.

Apart from these, some other German surnames include Walter, which means ruler or leader in the army, Kohl implies cabbage seller or grower, and Hartmann stands for a strong or courageous man.