A tendency in compound German family names is the use of -er , -en , -n , and -s , to separate noun-noun and adjective-noun names. I had thought of an example to give you but instead I will give some from the book that I am quoting. It suggests Falckenberg , Gutenberg , Habsburg (which was formerly Habichtsburg ), Hohenzollern , Rockefeller (from Rockenfeld ), usw (und so weider). The connecting forms have no meaning and serve merely to facilitate pronunciation.
Some German names are deceptive in that they appear to be the combination of two simpler words but they are not. The name Beinecke might seem to be a combination of Bein (leg) and Ecke (corner), but the name is more likely an American spelling of several other German names.
In going from German to English, German names sometimes undergo a major change, especially to the eye. Here are some pairs, Broncard/Brokaw , Oehrle/Early , Tschudy/Judy , Rieth/Reed , and Schleiermacher/Slaymaker .
The letter suffix -er is often attached to occupations, or to localities, to form family names, and is termed a "derivative ending". In Austria, the Plankenbichlers came from the Plankenbichl farm. These derivative endings are most common in southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Some examples here in America are Frankfurter , Kissinger , and Schlesinger , all of which appear to derive form localities. Some of the names started in this way in Germany but underwent an evolution there. Originally, a maker of wagons was Wagenmacher but it became Wagner , eliminating some of the letters. Another shortened form of an occupational name is Ziegelbrenner which became Ziegler . The full name means brick burner, hence a brick maker. Eisenhower is another occupational name, a worker in iron, or iron hewer.
One of the oldest known family names in Germany is Haller dating from 1140. During the centuries since then, the name has evolved in different directions such as Heller , Holler , Höller , Hall , and Halle . In America another variant is Hollar ,but this does not occur in Germany.
Names ending in an " ig " are usually of German or Swiss origin. Examples are Gehri g and König . The later is sometimes spelled as Koenig and Konig , or as King in America.
Family names were not adopted in all parts of Germany at the same time. The earliest areas were in the southeast and the use spread to the northwest. There was a time lapse by position of the family. First, the ruling families adopted family names, then the patriarch families, then the hand workers, and lastly the farmers. Some of the first Germans to America, in 1683 to Germantown, had no family names and were given family names during the emigration process. In some cases the process was not complete until the Napoleonic laws were adopted in 1805.
(24 Jul 00)
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