The Top 100 German Surnames

German last names originate from places and professions in  Germany and far beyond, as a list of 100 of the most common German surnames shows. The list was initially created by searching for the most common last names in German telephone books. Where variations of a spelling of a surname occurred, those monikers are listed as separate names. For instance, Schmidt, which is ranked No. 2, also appears as Schmitt (No. 24), and Schmid (No. 26). This list is different than one showing  popular German surnames  with their English translations. The Origin of German Last Names The meanings of German last names are those as defined initially when these names became surnames. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Mà ¼ller, Weber, or Schà ¤fer) or places. Few of the latter are on the following list, but examples include Brinkmann, Berger, and Frank. German Last Names and Their Meanings In the table, the German name is listed on the left, with its origin (and explanation if needed) on the right. The acronyms OHG and MHG stand for Old High German and Middle High German, respectively. The acronyms are noted because you wont find the translations for these names in standard online translators or even most German dictionaries. German Surname Meaning/Origin Mà ¼ller miller Schmidt smith Schneider taylor Fischer fisher Weber weaver Schà ¤fer shepherd Meyer (MHG) steward of landholder; leaseholder Wagner wagoner Becker from Bà ¤cker baker Bauer farmer Hoffmann landed farmer Schulz mayor Koch cook Richter judge Klein small Wolf wolf Schrà ¶der carter Neumann new man Braun brown Werner (OHG) defense army Schwarz black Hofmann landed farmer Zimmermann carpenter Schmitt Smith Hartmann strong man Schmid Smith Weiß white Schmitz Smith Krà ¼ger potter Lange long Meier (MHG) steward of land; leaseholder Walter leader, ruler Kà ¶hler charcoal-maker Maier (MHG) steward of landholder; leaseholder Beck from Bach–stream; Bà ¤cker–baker Kà ¶nig king Krause curly-haired Schulze mayor Huber landowner Mayer steward of landholder; leaseholder Frank from Franconia Lehmann serf Kaiser emperor Fuchs fox Herrmann warrior Lang long Thomas (Aramaic) twin Peters (Greek) rock Stein rock, stone Jung young Mà ¶ller miller Berger from French–shepherd Martin (Latin) war-like Friedrich (OHG) fridu–peace, rihhi–powerful Scholz mayor Keller cellar Groß big Hahn rooster Roth from rot–red Gà ¼nther (Scandinavian) warrior Vogel bird Schubert (MHG) Schuochwà ¼rchte–shoemaker Winkler from Winkel–angle Schuster shoemaker; Jà ¤ger–hunter Lorenz (Latin) Laurentius Ludwig (OHG) luth–famous, wig–war Baumann - farmer Heinrich (OHG) heim–home and rihhi–powerful Otto OHG ot–property, inheritance Simon (Hebrew) God has listened Graf count, earl Kraus curly-haired Krà ¤mer small trader, dealer Bà ¶hm of Bohemia Schulte from Schultheiß–debt-broker Albrecht (OHG) adal–noble, bereht–famous Franke (Old French) Franconia Winter winter Schumacher cobbler, shoemaker Vogt steward Haas (MHG) nickname for rabbit hunter; coward Sommer summer Schreiber writer, scribe Engel angel Ziegler brickmaker Dietrich (OHG) people’s ruler Brandt fire, burn Seidel mug Kuhn councilman Busch bush Horn horn Arnold (OHG) strength of an eagle Kà ¼hn councilman Bergmann miner Pohl Polish Pfeiffer piper Wolff wolf Voigt steward Sauer sour