Due to their sonority and beauty, German family nicknames are very popular among the peoples of many countries. Each of the proper names is unique and has a specific origin. Everyone who wants to join the culture of the peoples of Germany will be able to pick up a nickname to their liking that is beautiful in sound or with sacred meaning.
German names and surnames
The history of the appearance of German names and surnames begins in ancient times. Personal names were called upon to carry not only a beautiful combination, but also magical meaning which endowed the owner with certain qualities of character. The family nicknames of the Germans had a slightly different character of formation. They began to emerge from nickname meanings that reflected:
- already existing bright qualities of a person (Braun - brown, Schwarz - black, Klein - small);
- the area where he lived (von Berne, von der Vogelweide);
- the owner's profession or occupation (Becker - baker, Koch - cook, Bauer - peasant);
- many were formed from personal names (Peters, Walter).
Gradually, peculiar nicknames began to be recorded in official documents and acquired the meaning of the first German surnames, entrenched in all the descendants of the people who wore them. Business papers began to distribute them widely. In many modern families In Germany, it is customary to address servants simply by name, without using the addresses that are familiar to this European country and have a respectful meaning:
- Herr - for men;
- Frau - for women.
The prefix "von" in German surnames
Many Germanic surnames have the prefix "background" at the beginning. It was very honorable to have one, since it was assigned exclusively to people of noble blood - aristocrats. In ancient times, only feudal lords could have such a postscript - people who own servants and land plots. Today, the prefix "von" in German surnames can be found in people of any kind of activity, since everyone noble privileges have been cancelled.
German surnames for girls
Having sonorous names girls can take second foreign origin. For respectful address to women in Germany, the word "Frau", meaning "madam", is used. Beautiful German surnames for women with their meaning for girls:
- Kaufman is a merchant;
- Becker - baker;
- Rieger - from Riga;
- Klee - clover;
- Hertz - courage;
- Reuss - on behalf of;
- Schultz - headman;
- Mayer - farmer, burgomaster;
- Till is a strong ruler;
- Junghans - on behalf of the family.
German surnames for men
Noble and majestic meaning should be given to male German surnames. Representatives of the stronger sex can choose them by translation, in accordance with their profession or appearance. To emphasize significance, the word "Herr" should be used when addressing. List of popular beautiful male German proper names with their meanings:
- Fisher is a fisherman;
- Schmidt is a blacksmith;
- Becker is a baker;
- Koch - cook;
- Richter - judge;
- Brown - brown;
- Lange - big;
- Klein - small;
- Schroeder - tailor;
- Kehler - coal miner;
- Kening is the king;
- Krause - curly;
- Lehmann is a landowner.
Popular German surnames
Common German surnames are often used as pseudonyms. They are beautiful, noble, sonorous. Many people have these family names. famous people. List of popular beautiful Germanic proper names with meanings:
- Müller is a miller;
- Mayer - manager of the lands;
- Weber - weaver;
- Wagner - carriage maker;
- Schultz - headman;
- Hoffmann - courtier;
- Schaefer is a shepherd;
- Bauer is a peasant;
- Wolf - wolf;
- Neumann is a new man;
- Zimmerman is a carpenter;
- Kruger - potter;
- Schwartz - black;
- Hartmann - from a male personal name.
There are other beautiful nicknames:
- Walter;
- Berg;
- Borman;
- Bremer;
- Brunner;
- Ganz;
- Gruber;
- Geller;
- Seiler;
- Simmel;
- Singer;
- Keller;
- Kramer;
- Liebknecht;
- Leitner;
- Merkel;
- Meyer;
- Moritz;
- Neller;
- Osterman;
- Pearl;
- Preuss;
- Riedel;
- Rogge;
- Rothman;
- Frieze;
- Fuchs;
- Hoffman;
- Zuckerman;
- Schwartz;
- Schiller;
- Schmidt;
- Schneider;
- Schroeder;
- Matte;
- Ebel.
IN European countries, as in the rest of the world, the identity of a person for many centuries was identified by his name. An example is the very son of God Jesus, who at birth was named Emmanuel, and then called Yeshua. The need to distinguish different people with one name required explanatory additions. So the Savior began to be called Jesus of Nazareth.
When did the Germans get surnames?
German surnames followed the same principle as in other countries. Their formation in the peasant environment of various lands continued until the 19th century, that is, it coincided in time with the completion of state building. The formation of a united Germany required a clearer and more unambiguous definition of who is who.
However, already in the XII century on the territory of the present Federal Republic There was a nobility in Germany, and at the same time German surnames first appeared. As in other European countries, patronymics are not used here for personal identification. But at birth, the baby is usually given two names. You can refer to any person by adding a word meaning gender. Women's German surnames are no different from men's, they just use the prefix "frau" in front of them.
Types of German surnames
By linguistic origin, German surnames can be divided into groups. The first and most common is formed from names, mostly male. This is explained by the fact that the mass appropriation of surnames took place in a fairly short (in the historical sense) period, and there was simply no time for the manifestation of any sophisticated fantasy.
Surnames derived from given names
The simplest of them are those that did not philosophize for a long time, but simply formed them on behalf of their first owner. Some peasant was called Walter, so his descendants received such a surname. We also have Ivanovs, Sidorovs and Petrovs, and their origin is similar German Johannes, Peters or Hermann. From the point of view of historical background, such popular German surnames say little, except that some ancient ancestor was called Peters.
Profession as a morphological basis of a surname
Somewhat less common are German surnames, which speak of the professional affiliation of their first owner, one might say, the ancestor. But the diversity of this group is much wider. The most famous surname in her is Muller, which means “miller” in translation. The English equivalent is Miller, and in Russia or Ukraine it is Melnik, Melnikov or Melnichenko.
The famous composer Richard Wagner could assume that one of his ancestors was engaged in freight transport on his own cart, the ancestor of the storyteller Hoffmann owned his own household yard, and the great-grandfather of the pianist Richter was a judge. The Schneiders and Schroeders used to be tailors, and the Singers loved to sing. There are other interesting German male surnames. The list is continued by Fischer (fisherman), Becker (baker), Bauer (peasant), Weber (weaver), Zimmermann (carpenter), Schmidt (blacksmith) and many others.
There was once during the war Gauleiter Koch, the same one who was blown up by underground partisans. In translation, his surname means "cook". Yes, he made porridge ...
Surnames as a description of appearance and character
Some male and possibly female German surnames come from the appearance or character of their first owner. For example, the word "lange" in translation means "long", and it can be assumed that its original founder was different tall, for which he received such a nickname. Klein (small) is his complete opposite. Krause means "curly", such an attractive feature of the hair of some Frau, who lived a couple of centuries ago, can be inherited. Fuchs' ancestors were most likely as cunning as foxes. The ancestors of Weiss, Brown or Schwartz, respectively, were blond, brown-haired or brunette. The Hartmans were noted for their excellent health and strength.
Slavic origin of German surnames
The German lands in the east always bordered on and this created the conditions for the mutual penetration of cultures. Well-known German surnames with the endings "-its", "-ov", "-of", "-ek", "-ke" or "-ski" have a pronounced Russian or Polish origin.
Lutzow, Diesterhof, Dennits, Modrow, Janke, Radetzky and many others have long become familiar, and their total share is one-fifth of total number German surnames. In Germany, they are perceived as their own.
The same applies to the ending "-er", derived from the word "yar", which means a person in the Old Slavic language. Painter, teslyar, fisherman, baker - explicit examples such cases.
During the Germanization period, many of these surnames were simply translated into German, choosing the appropriate roots or replacing the ending with “-er”, and now nothing reminds of the Slavic origin of their owners (Smolyar - Smoler, Sokolov - Sokol - Falk).
Backgrounds-barons
There are very beautiful German surnames, consisting of two parts: the main one and the prefix, usually “von” or “der”. They contain information not only about the unique features of appearance, but also about the famous historical events in which the owners of these nicknames took part, sometimes actively. Therefore, descendants are proud of such names and often remember their ancestors when they want to emphasize their own generosity. Walther von der Vogelweid - it sounds! Or here is von Richthoffen, the pilot and the "Red Baron".
However, not only former glory causes such complications in writing. The origin of German surnames can be much more prosaic and speak of the area in which the person was born. What, for example, does Dietrich von Bern mean? Everything is clear: his ancestors come from the capital of Switzerland.
German surnames of Russian people
The Germans have lived in Russia since pre-Petrine times, populating entire regions, called "slobodas", according to the ethnic principle. However, then all Europeans were called that, but under the great emperor-reformer, the influx of immigrants from the German lands was encouraged in every possible way. The process gained momentum during the reign of Catherine the Great.
German colonists settled in the Volga region (Saratov and Tsaritsinsk provinces), as well as in Novorossia. Big number Lutherans later converted to Orthodoxy and assimilated, but they retained their German surnames. For the most part, they are the same as those worn by the settlers who came to the Russian Empire during the 16th-18th centuries, with the exception of those cases when the clerks-clerks who prepared the documents made typos and mistakes.
Surnames considered Jewish
Rubinstein, Hoffmann, Eisenstein, Weisberg, Rosenthal and many other names of citizens Russian Empire, the USSR and the post-Soviet countries, many mistakenly consider Jewish. This is wrong. However, there is some truth in this statement.
The fact is that Russia, starting from late XVII century, became the country where every enterprising and hard-working person could find his place in life. There was enough work for everyone, new cities were being built at an accelerated pace, especially in Novorossia, recaptured from Ottoman Empire. It was then that Nikolaev, Ovidiopol, Kherson and, of course, the pearl of the south of Russia - Odessa appeared on the map.
For foreigners coming to the country, as well as for their own citizens who wished to develop new lands, extremely favorable economic conditions were created, and political stability, supported by military power regional leader, ensured that this position would be maintained for a long time.
Currently, Lustdorf (Merry Village) has become one of the Odessa suburbs, and then it was a German colony, the main occupation of whose inhabitants was Agriculture, mainly viticulture. They also knew how to brew beer here.
Jews, famous for their business savvy, trading savvy and craft skills, also did not remain indifferent to the call. Russian empress Catherine. In addition, musicians, artists and other artists of this nationality came from Germany. The surnames of most of them were German, and they spoke Yiddish, which in its essence is one of the dialects of the German language.
At that time, there was a "Pale of Settlement", which, however, outlined a fairly large and not worse part of the empire. In addition to the Black Sea region, the Jews chose many areas of the current Kyiv region, Bessarabia and other fertile lands, building small towns. It is also important that living beyond the Pale of Settlement was mandatory only for those Jews who remained faithful to Judaism. Having adopted Orthodoxy, everyone could settle in any part of the vast country.
Thus, natives of Germany of two nationalities at once became carriers of German surnames.
Unusual German surnames
In addition to these groups of German surnames, originating from professions, hair color, appearance features, there is another, rare, but wonderful. And she speaks of the glorious qualities of character, good disposition and fun, which the ancestors of the person bearing this name were famous for. An example is Alisa Freindlich, who adequately confirms the reputation of her ancestors. "Kind", "friendly" - this is how this German surname is translated.
Or Neumann. " New person“Isn’t it beautiful? How great it is to please everyone around you every day, and even yourself, with freshness and novelty!
Or economic Wirtz. Or Luther with pure thoughts and open heart. Or Jung - young, regardless of the number of years lived.
Such interesting German surnames, the list of which is endless!
So, my first post, which is not a copy-paste from a Pokelig magazine. And it was thanks to which my blog appeared (which is written in the first blog post).
It all started with the fact that once my friend Zoana, who is fond of writing fanfiction, asked me: what do the prefixes to the surnames of some characters in this or that work mean? I was also interested in the question, but at first I didn’t really want to delve into it too much. However, just a day later, I wondered - why do some characters have more than one or two names? The answer question to my friend did not give any results, and I decided to get on the Internet and puzzle over these two questions, simultaneously writing down the results of the “research” for her and for other interested acquaintances.
Also, in fairness, I will point out that a considerable part of the information presented here was gleaned from the Internet, and together with my own reflections, a kind of mini-report was obtained.
Number of names
I decided to start with “my own” question - why do some characters have one or two names, and some have three, four or more (the longest I came across in a story about two Chinese boys, where the poor was simply called Chon, and the name of the rich took up lines maybe five).
I turned to Mr. Google, and he told me that the tradition of several names today takes place mainly in English-speaking and Catholic countries.
The most illustrative is the "naming" system in the UK, presented in many books. According to her, according to statistics, all English children traditionally receive two names at birth - a personal (first name) and a middle (middle name) or second name (second name). Currently, the middle name plays the role of an additional hallmark, especially for persons who have widespread names and surnames.
The custom of giving a child a middle name, as I found out in the same place, goes back to the tradition of assigning several personal names to a newborn. It is known that, historically, the name of a person had special meaning, as a rule, testifying to the life purpose of the child, and also associated with the name of God (or another Higher Patron), on whose patronage and protection the parents counted ...
Being distracted - at this moment I made some hesitation and chuckled a little over the idea that if someone cannot find the meaning of their life - then perhaps you need to study your name in more detail and act on the basis of it? Or (seriously), on the contrary, you can give your next character a name that will explicitly or implicitly testify to its purpose (which, by the way, was done by some famous authors giving the heroes of their works talking names and/or surnames).
In addition, as I read when I interrupted my reflections, the significance in society could also depend on the name. So, often, if the name did not contain the idea of patronage, the carrier was considered to be ignorant by genealogy or insignificant and did not enjoy respect.
Several names, as a rule, were given to an important person, recognized to do several glorious deeds - as many as he has names. For example, the emperor, king, prince and other representatives of the nobility could have several names. Depending on the nobility and the number of titles long form name could be a long chain of names and exalting epithets. For monarchs, the main lifetime name was the so-called “throne name”, which officially replaced the name received by the heir to the throne at birth or baptism. In addition, a similar tradition is observed in Roman catholic church when the elected Pope chooses for himself the name by which he will be known from that moment on.
Of course, the church system of names and naming is much wider, and can be considered in much more detail (which is worth only the system “worldly name - church name”), but I am not strong in this and will not go into depth.
It should also be noted that the church is traditionally the guardian of such customs. For example, the custom, partially preserved in the already mentioned Catholic Church, when a person often has three names: from birth, from baptism in childhood and from chrismation to entry into the world with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
By the way, at the same stage, there was once an additional - "nominal" - social stratification. The problem was that, historically, the church had to pay for every extra name at one time.
However, poor people contrived, and this "restriction" was bypassed - partly due to this, there is french name, uniting the patronage of all saints - Toussaint.
Of course, for the sake of fairness, I would recall the saying “seven nannies have a child without an eye” on this occasion ... It’s not up to me to decide, of course, although a good story could come out about the fate of a character with that name, whose patrons could not agree on joint patronage. Or maybe there are even such - I have not read so many works in my life.
Continuing the story, it is worth noting that middle names can also indicate the occupation or fate of the person wearing them.
Both personal names and geographical names can be used as middle names, common names etc. The middle name can be significant “generic” - when a child is called by a name that the next of kin did not have, but which from time to time appears in the family, foreshadowing a particular role for a person. The name can be “family”: when children are called “in honor” of one of the relatives. Any direct association of a name with its already known bearer will certainly connect the betrothed with the one in whose honor he or she was named. Although the coincidences and similarities here, of course, are unpredictable. And, often, the more tragic in the end is perceived dissimilarity. In addition, the surnames of the people in whose honor they are assigned are often used as middle names.
There is no law limiting the number of middle names (or at least I have not found any mention of such), but more than four additional middle names are usually not assigned. However, traditions and rules are often designed to be broken. In fictional worlds, the “legislator” is generally the author, and everything written lies on his conscience.
As an example of several names, a person from real world enough to remember famous professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Another illustrative - but already fictional - example is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (JK Rowling - Harry Potter series).
Also, I recently found out interesting fact that in some countries the "gender" of the middle name does not matter. That is, as the middle name of a man ( male character) can also be used female name. This happens, as I understand it, all from the same fact of naming in honor of the highest patron (patron in this case). I somehow didn’t see the opposite examples (or don’t remember), but logically, women with average “male” names can also be.
As an example, only Ostap-Suleiman was remembered -Bertha Maria-Bender Bay (Ostap Bender, yeah)
Personally, on my own behalf, I’ll add the fact that nothing, in principle, interferes with the author specific work come up with and justify your naming system.
For example: “in the world of Randomia, the number four is especially sacred, and in order for the child to be happy and successful, parents try to give him four names: the first is personal, the second is after his father or grandfather, the third is in honor of the patron saint and the fourth is in honor of one of great warriors (for boys) or diplomats (for girls) of the state”.
The example was invented absolutely right off the bat, and your invented tradition can be much more thoughtful and interesting.
I'll move on to the second question.
family prefixes
The question that my friend Zoana puzzled me with, and which I once asked myself, although I was too lazy to find out what was the matter.
To begin with, the definition Family prefixes- in some world nominal formulas, components and integral parts of the surname.
Sometimes they point to aristocratic background, but not always. Usually they are written separately from the main family word, but sometimes they can merge with it.
At the same time, as I found out for myself from what I read, family prefixes differ from country to country and can have different meanings.
I also note that this part of the article turned out to be much more copy-paste and excerpts, since this issue has a much closer connection with history and languages, and my education, which is not specialized in the topic, is hardly enough to retell in a freer style.
England
Fitz - "son anyone", distorted fr. Fils de(for example: Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick) .
Armenia
Ter- ter [տեր], in the ancient Armenian original tearn (Armenian տեարն), “lord”, “lord”, “master”. For example: Ter-Petrosyan.
This prefix can have two similar, in general, meanings, and mean:
1) The title of the highest Armenian aristocracy, similar to the British lord. This title was usually placed before or after generic name, for example tern Andzewats or Artzruneats ter, and most often referred to nahapet (Head of a clan or tribal leader in ancient Armenia), tanuter (In ancient Armenia, the head of an aristocratic family, patriarch) or gaherets ishkhanu (In I X-XI centuries chapter noble family, corresponding to the earlier naapet and tanuter) of this genus. The same title was used when referring to a person from the highest aristocracy.
2) After the Christianization of Armenia, this title also began to be used by the highest clergy of the Armenian Church. Unlike the original designation of an aristocrat, the title "ter" in church use began to be added to the names of clergymen. In such a combination, "ter" is similar to the church "father", "lord" and is not an indicator of the noble origin of the bearer of the surname. Now it is present in the surnames of those who had a priest in their ancestors in the male line. The word “ter” itself is still used today when referring to an Armenian priest or when mentioning him (akin to the more familiar to our ears address “[holy] father”).
Germany
Background(For example: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
Tsu(For example: Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg)
Basically a family prefix "background", as it turned out, is a sign of nobility. It expresses the idea of land ownership by representatives of the ancient nobility, for example, “Duke von Württemberg”, “Ernst August von Hannover”. But there are exceptions. In the north of Germany, many "commoners" are called "von", which indicates only the place of residence / origin. Also, granted nobles, originally of burgher origin, who were elevated by the sovereign to noble dignity with the presentation of a copy of the letter of nobility (Adelbrief) and the salary of the coat of arms (Wappen), were given the family prefix "von" and Mr. Müller turned into Mr. Von Müller.
Unlike the "background" predicate "tsu" necessarily included a relation to a certain inherited land holding, mainly medieval castle- for example "Prince von i zu Liechtenstein" (Liechtenstein = principality and family castle).
At present, the titles of aristocrats have become part of compound surnames in Germany. Such surnames often include the particle preposition "von", "von der", "von dem" (translated as "from"), less often "tsu" (translated as "in") or a mixed version of "von und tsu".
It is generally believed that "von" indicates the place of origin of the surname (family), while "zu" means that the area is still in the possession of the family.
With a particle und“No matter how much I read, I didn’t fully understand it. Although, as far as I understand, it simply plays the role of a link, denoting either a mixture family prefixes, or the union of surnames in general. Although perhaps I am hindered simply by ignorance of the language.
Israel
Ben- - son (presumably following the example of the English Fitz) (for example: David Ben Gurion)
Ireland
ABOUT‘ means "grandson"
Poppy means "son"
That is, both prefixes in Irish surnames usually indicate their origin. Regarding the spelling of the prefix "Mak", I read that in most cases in Russian it is written with a hyphen, but there are exceptions. For example, it is common continuous spelling such surnames as MacDonald, MacDowell, Macbeth, etc. general rule does not exist, and the spelling is individual in each case.
Spain
In the case of Spain, the situation is even more complicated, because, based on what I have read, Spaniards usually have two surnames: paternal and maternal. In this case, the paternal surname ( appellido paterno) is placed before the parent ( apellido materno); so that, in official address, only the paternal surname is used (although there are exceptions).
A similar system exists in Portugal, with the difference that in the double surname the mother's surname is the first, and the father's surname is the second.
Returning to the Spanish system: sometimes the paternal and maternal surnames are separated by the particle "and" (for example: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
Further, in some localities there is a tradition to add to the surname the name of the locality where the bearer of this surname was born or where his ancestors come from. The particle "de" used in these cases, unlike in France, is not an indicator of noble origin, but is only an indicator of the area of \u200b\u200borigin (and, by implication, the antiquity of origin, since we know that localities sometimes tend to change names for one reason or another ).
In addition, when married, Spanish women do not change their surname, but simply add the husband’s surname to “apellido paterno”: for example, Laura Riario Martinez, having married a man named Marquez, can sign Laura Riario de Marquez or Laura Riario, señora Marquez, where the particle "de" separates the surname before marriage from the surname after marriage
The “revelry of naming” is limited by the fact that, according to Spanish law, no more than two names and two surnames can be recorded in a person’s documents.
Although, of course, any author, creating his own own history and, guided by the Spanish naming model for their characters, can simply ignore this law, coupled with the above tradition of middle names. Remember such entertainment as double names? What about the tradition of double surnames in some languages (in Russian, for example)? Have you read the above information about the number of names? Yes? Four double names, two double surnames- can you imagine already?
And you can also come up with your own naming tradition, as I wrote above. In general, if you are not afraid that your character will look too extravagant, you have a unique opportunity to reward him or her with a family name design for at least half a page.
Italy
IN Italian historically, prefixes meant the following:
De / Dee- belonging to a surname, family, for example: De Filippo means "one of the Filippo family",
Yes- belonging to the place of origin: Da Vinci - "Leonardo from Vinci", where Vinci meant the name of the city, area. Later, Da and De became just part of the surname and now do not mean anything. Done not necessarily with this aristocratic origin.
Netherlands
Van- a particle that sometimes makes up a prefix to Dutch surnames derived from the name of a locality; often it is spelled together with the surname itself. Corresponding to grammatical meaning German "background » and French "de » . Often found as van de, van der and van den. It still means "from". However, if in German"von" means noble (with the exceptions mentioned) origin, then in the Dutch naming system the simple prefix "van" does not refer to the nobility. The nobility is the double prefix van ... that (for example, Baron van Voorst tot Voorst).
Meaning of other common prefixes such as Van den, van der- see above
France
French consoles, for me personally, are the most famous and indicative
In France, prefixes to surnames, as mentioned earlier, denote noble origin. Translated into Russian, prefixes denote the genitive case, "from" or "...sky". For example, Cesar de Vandom- Duke of Vendôme or Vendôme.
The most commonly used prefixes:
If the last name starts with a consonant
de
du
If the last name starts with a vowel
d‘
Other
In addition, there are a number of different family name prefixes, the origin of which, unfortunately, I could not find out.
Listed below are just a few of them.
- Le(?)
- Yes, doo, shower (Portugal, Brazil)
- La (Italy)
So, as I found out in the end, the traditions of naming and “assembling” surnames are quite extensive and diverse, and most likely I considered only the tip of the iceberg. And even more extensive and diverse (and, often, no less interesting) can be author's derivatives of these systems.
However, in conclusion, I’ll add: before raising your hands over the keyboard in anticipation, think about it - does your character really need a name for half a page? By itself long name character - the idea is not very original and, if there is nothing behind it except the author's "Wishlist", it is rather stupid.
