Whimsical surnames, part 2 (again mostly German)
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[This is a guest post by Michael Witzel]
A few months ago you published a discussion of whimsical surnames. Since then I have paid attention and have found new ones in almost every news broadcast.
It is said that there are 1 million (!) surnames in the German speaking area of some 95 million people (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Alsace, Luxemburg, Eupen in Belgium and some 1 million remaining in Poland). I leave aside the many millions of German immigrants in America etc., such as the notorious politician Witzel in Rio de Janeiro. Also, many Jewish names are the same as “regular German” names (;like Schuster =Shoemaker, head of the German Jewish Central Committee).
What I found is that almost all (hair) colors, animals, etc. are used, just as are designations of occupations, etc.. etc.
Beyond that, there are many funny names. Here is a small selection:
Schweinsteiger “pig incline” (a soccer player)
Mestmacher “dung maker”
Sauerbier “sour beer"
Fuellkrug “fill the mug!”
Streckfuss “stretch the foot”
Stopfkuchen “ push down the cake — in your throat" (my teacher)
Breitbart “broad beard” (US political site)
Halbfass “half vat” (our late Philly colleague)
Mundlos “without mouth (a terrorist)
Bauernfeind “enemy of peasants"
Von Hodenberg “testicle mountain"
Freyer “pursuing (women)"
Liebling “dear/lover"
Bräutigam “groom"
Van Skyhawk, from Dutch: van Schijk! (a late colleague).
via Latin: Blei “lead” from Latin Plumbum “lead” from LPrumboom “plum tree”!!
AND NOTE YOUR OWN NAME:
Maier-/Meier/Mayer/Mayr/Mair < Maior domus, "the administrator of a royal domain"
Note also typical Jewish names:
Abzug “vent/ chimney” (Like in Bella A.)
Ladestock “loading stick (for muskets)"
Zündnagel “ignition nail (in muskets)"
Mundstein (mouth/teeth stain” (my Austrian friend)
Baumfleck “spot on a tree” (a recent Israeli tech specialist at Harvard)
Berlinerblau “Berlin = Prussian blue (as in uniforms)
See: Max Gottschald, Deutsche Namenkunde.
Gottschald's book is the standard German work on onomastics. It explains every German surname and its parts, and cross-referencing relates one name to many others.
And the older Deutsches Namenbuch.
ENJOY!
Selected readings
- "Whimsical surnames" (3/16/24)
- "Troublesome Chinese surname" (10/1/22)
- "Concoction and elaboration" (3/5/24)
- "How to pronounce the surname 'Mair' and other Doggie talk" (2/17/22)