In a message dated 98-06-17 08:22:11 EDT, you write: > Apparently (I still need to check into this) German pronunciation > eventually shifted. In modern German, the second vowel in two-vowel > combinations is the one pronounced; hence the pronunciation "Gei-ger" > with a long "i". > > Our surname means "fiddler". Strictly speaking, it's incorrect to translate > it as "violinist," as I've seen some do. The reason is that the violin, > properly so-called, did not originate until the 16th century in Italy. > Bart, I don't know if this adds anything relevant to your excellent explanation of the surname Geiger but I have also seen Geiger spelled with a diacritical mark over the second G as such: Geig"er. I have been told that this would change the pronounciation just a bit making the G sound harder. In other cases I have seen the diacritical mark over the i: Ge�ger making a dipthong out of the preceeding vowels EI. This could bring the sound closer to Geeeger I would think. While you are correct about the difference between "fiddler" and "violinist" try telling that to the Babelfish translator--it insists on making violinist out of Geiger--it does not recognize it as a proper noun. Perhaps this is due to the German use of capital letters at the start of each noun. Joan