Family names of direct ancestors. More common names have the occurrence per 1,000 given in brackets (data for Germany, 1995). The Kekule number of the last carrier of the name is given when they were beyond the generation of my grandparents. There may be several numbers when several namelines exist with this name, which may or may not be related to each other. Where we have been able to link a name to a possible geographic origin, the link to the relevant blog entry is provided.
Last updated 27.8.2026 - Names and numbers complete back to generation 11, ie number 4095.
Some of the most common German surnames.
Source: RossiLeone, Wikimedia Commons.
Adschuck 25 - very rare, presumed to derive from a Polish name such as Odszuk.
Andre(ae) 309
Andres
Arndts ? 577
Arnoldi 2471
Ascherfeld ? 101
Attig ? 117
Augustin 601
Austmann 3053
Backes / Bachus 591
Balters 2493
Bangert 167, 2673
Bär 2237
Basters 2491
Bastert 2483
Bauer (2,1) 1187
Baumann 2209
Baur 2215
Baxher
Becker (2,7) 143, 2379
Bentfeld 93
Bentler 743 - allegedly a branch of the noble house of Itter.
Benz 557, 2227
(aus dem) Bieg 2331
Bißinger 545
Bitsch 669 - coming from the eponymous village in Switzerland.
Bittner 113
Blauer(t) 603
Bodang/Bonnedame 551 - likely of Huguenot origins.
Böddeker 741
Bouquet 1123 - likely of Huguenot origins.
Brecht 649
Brehm
Brenneisen
Bruch 1241
Buschbaum
Büttner 61
Caspers 1203
Christ 2405
Christophor 2469
Cosfeld 47
Creutzer
Cuntz 599, 2383
Daminin / Dammi 2427
Deerbergs 2913
de la Strada 73 - of Italian origin according to family folklore, more about it here.
Detert 383
Domscheit 27
Dopheide 763 - may or may not derive from d'Oppede and the eponymous town in Provence.
Dörich 1103
Dörr 2443
Dreeskornfeld 3025
Dresen/Drees/Dreß 621
Dürrmann 2185, 2201
Düsselmann/Düselmann/Tüselman - origins are geographically close to the small river Düssel, which flows into the Rhine at Düsseldorf, so that looks like a plausible explanation. The etymology of the river name is linked to the verb "tosen", which describes a turbulent, noisy flow.
Eberle 653, 1337
Ebner / Ebener 617
Edlers 1457
Egli
Ehemann 1095
Ehrhard 641
Enkrich / Emkrug 1173
Ernes
Eschwey 325
Evers
Fabry
Faudner 65
Faust
Fechtlein 1105
Fischer 615
Förster 115
Freischmid/Freischmidt 311
Frey(er) Susanne 2207
Frick 2225
Friederich 335
Gather 295
Gauderer 559
Geilen 2363
Geiß 2431
Gellrich
Gembs 227
Germer 553
Getrost 2625
Gezelmann 1089
Giesen 147
Goldbecker 1527
Göllner 1521
Göppert / Geppert
Grammel 119
Groß (0,7)
Güthenke 189 - coming from the Gütersloh area, hence I think the name has the same root as that of the village which is now a city in eastern Westphalia.
Häberling
Hammers(in) 1235
Hark 2261
Hebel 305
Heckmann 573, 1127, 1141, 2291
Hehlmann 1323
Heilmann 1321
Heinemans 365
Heinrich 1093
Helfrich / Helferich 331
Hemmeler / Hammeke 1169
Hermann (0,5) 301
Hieb 2241
Hilt 2177
Himp / Hemp 2413
Hinnei 761
Hockenberger 1117
Hoerr 661
Hoffmann (2,6) 277, 2299
Hörrle / Hörle 69
Huber (1,1)
Huperts 2487
Hust 281
Imig / Immig 37
Jacobs / Jacques 585 - Metallfacharbeiter aus Wallonien
Joachim 329, 2651
Joest 1303
Juellich 327
Jungbluth 285
Kadel 163, 651
Kaiser (1,1) 137, 279
Kammerer 2219
Kauer 19 earliest Kauers are from Nickweiler, suggesting possible connection to the Kauerhof in this village which was mentioned in 1074.
Kerff 1181
Kern 1143, 1151, 2301
Keuert 155
Kistenmacher 2753
Kleidt 2419
Klein 1139
Kleße 59
Klink 55
Klundt 35
Knievels 187
Koch (2,1) 373, 2641
Kop 2657
Kos(se)mowsky
Kost 1141, 2289
Krall 2645
Krämer 2643
Krick 1315, 2655
Kub
Küchel 575
Kuhl 2485
Kuhn (0,6) 303
Kukuk 99
Kurz / Kurtz 297
Langendorf 2629
Lautenklos 1307
Lenhart 1339
Lippmanns
Loder 2205
Ludwig 593, 1113
Lütkemeyer 23
Lüperts 1243
Maess 371
Mangold 2255
Matth 2281
Mayer (1,2) 2233
Mentzel 33
Merten(s) 1191, 2361
Metzger 333, 665
Metzler 619
Metzner 57, 2287
Meurer 1211
Meyer zu Ummeln
Michel 299
Mohr (0,5) 607
Mösner 1147
Müller (5,5) 141, 595, 1133, 1221
Münster
Nagel (0,5) 183
Neubeck 287, 1145
Neuhaus 89
Obelode, Obbelohde, Ubbelohde, Obbelau 95 - a unique name linked to a farm at Steinhagen near Bielefeld.
Pahde 381
Pape 729
Paschen 737
Pfeiffer 67
Pfersching 17
Pflug 225
Philippi 151, 609
Piroth/Pierot/Pyroth 623, 1245
Plewe 53
Pollvogt - renamed to Steinmeier
Pott 3047
Quick 161
Ramminger 551
Reichhard 2429
Reinig 173, 321
Rettig 657
Reuter 605
Riebel 283
Ripen 747
Röder 83
Römer 2417
(von der) Rosen 2471
Röshof 583
Rustemeyer 185, 369
Saass 2277
Saur 587
Schaab 1301
Schäfer (2,3) 175
Scheidthauer ? 61 ?
Scheuermann 1325
Schilling 45
Schiver 739
Schleipfer
Schlosser 1185
Schmidt (6,9) 43, 63, 87, 307
Schmitt 1121, 1313, 2249, 2653
Schmidt-Bender
Scholz (1,1) 29
SChönau 1175
SChöning 1525
Schuh 611
Schüler 1213
Schuster (0,7) 2441
Schütz 21, 41, 81, 597, 663, 2649
Schwar(t)z (1,6) 745, 1215
Sebastian 571
Senter 1107
Siepmann 289 - may be linked to the place Am Zipp in Schwelm.
Sigginger 555
Simon (0,8) 71
Stadthaus ? 53?
Stamm 139
Stauch 565, 567
Steffen 1209, 1217
Steinmeier 191 - like the current federal president whose family comes from the same area near Bielefeld.
Stephan 31
Stier 1101
Stober 1111
Stohlmann 91
Strack 75
Straus 1233, 2221
Stumpf 1329
Teppner 199
Tesch 2375
Thelen 2365
Thiel 1229
Thus 1247
Treusch 165
Trimbach 569 - the wine growers in Alsace claim their nameline comes from the eponymous place in Switzerland.
Trust 149
Vader 2481, 2495
Vossen an Gather 295
Wagner 1189, 2189, 2243
Weckmüller 2421
Weick 2221
Weiland / Weyland 153 - is the name my most recent Jewish ancestor chose after converting to Christianity.
Weingart 2433
Weiß (1,0) 77, 911
Weydenbach 1109
Wiffels 2339
Wijsen / Wiesers 589
Willmann 2425
Wilsberg 145 - there is a place of that name in the Lower Rhine area where the Wilsberg name line appears to come from.
Wilser 273
Windt 49
Winterle
Wirth 2235
Wolf(f)(s) (1,8) 291 - my earliest Wolff ancestor came to Styrum and took on the name of the farm he took over, the Wolffskotten.
Wursten ? 129
Wüst 275
Zehfuss 2677
Zeisen / Zeutzheim 293 - the earliest Zeutzheims come from the village of Horchheim (Koblenz), not far from the village of Zeuzheim, so a move from one place to the other plausibly explains the origin of the name.
Zittel 563
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