This brief explanation of German surnames is extracted from an email that I received about a Family Tree University program. Perhaps it will help you with your family. Barb Occupational names (also called Ecknahme in German) can be very common and therefore more difficult to trace Many end in -er or -mann Hoffmann Fleischer Gerber Schiffmann Mueller Other suffixes are -macher or -hauer Rademacher Schneider Eisenhauer Fenstermacher These names were most likely to be "translated" into new names in America such as Ironcutter (for Eisenhauer) or Tailor (for Schneider) Geographic (place or feature names) can be specific or general: General examples: Bachmann ("man from the creek") Bergman ("man from the mountain") Dieffenbach ("deep creek") Specific examples Anspach and Marburger (from towns and cities) Schweitzer (from Switzerland) Specific place-based surnames usually came about after the individual moved from the area -- therefore, the place usually isn't an immigrant's home village, but may be near the village. Characteristic names Examples (with their meanings) include: Lang (long) Kopf (head) Weiss (white) Braun (brown) Klein (short) Altmann (old man) Gross (big) Nase (nose) Teufel (devil) Unruh (restless) Patronymic names, drawing from the father's first name: Used especially in Schleswig-Holstein and Ostfriesland, as Scandinavian patronymics were, until the 1800s Examples: Martin, Friedrichs, Jakobsohn, Felty