What does your Surname literally mean?

[CaptainF]

What does your Surname literally mean?

According to ancestry.com, there are 2 possibilities.

1. (German) A person who lived "on the Ach" (river). The -er suffix in the name denotes an inhabitant.

2. (Swiss German) Topographic name denoting someone who lived "by the field".

I think the latter is most probable because my ancestry is mostly Swiss.

 

[Winner]

It used to be a term for a lesser nobleman in medieval Bohemia.

 

[Japanrocks12]

it refers to my inevitably perfect Brahmin pedigree.

 

[holy king]

too unique to tell you.

 

[Echse]

When I was visited the US for the first time the major of New York City had the same surname as mine. Translated from german to english it means cook.

 

[Truronian]

Those last two words are the biggest letdown ever.

Still, it's pretty cool nearly being a direct male line descendant of Cornish royalty. I could be King Arthur's heir!

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Surname: Bee keeper
Complete name: Cheerful Bee Keeper.

 

[Truronian]

If I had taken my stepfather's surname when my mother got remarried my full name would mean "Mountain Mountain".

 

[fugazi]

Surname: Bee keeper
Complete name: Cheerful Bee Keeper.

Vrolijke Bijenhouder?

 

[scherbchen]

Pardon?

nevermind me. was drunk and trying to be funny. really nice name

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Vrolijke Bijenhouder?

Nein

But I'm not going to tell you what it is. Surname also not "imker" by the way.

And first name's "meaning" was from some spiritual floaty misty book. The actual literally meaning would give it away too easily. It has to do with worshipping wine.

 

[salty mud]

Son of David. Apparantly my name isn't Welsh, contrary to what I've been told by my family.

 

[mitsho]

My last name simply mean John.

to look up the other names in my family would take me too long ;-)

 

[StarWorms]

Meadow lands surrounded by water.

 

[Zulu Impi]

My name means Castle

 

[Synobun]

Apparently it means 'Bright Land'.

 

[eastsidebagel]

Stauffer.

It was really what my dad told me. Neither of us know if it's true or not.

Yeah, that sounds as though it could be correct, even though I'm not completely sure about it.
"Stauffer" is a fairly common name in Germany as well.

 

[BSmith1068]

Smith

Indeed.

 

[Masada]

Son of David. Apparantly my name isn't Welsh, contrary to what I've been told by my family.

Not all names in Wales are Welsh. There do be Scottish names in some areas, Anglo-Welsh names as well, Irish names in places and further general weirdness. So its possible that your name came from Wales but paradoxically isn't Welsh. I know for instance that Scottish names can acquire some odd spellings when they are Welshified(?) or Welshed(?). Manx names are nice on the ear as well

 

[Stolen Rutters]

Smith

Smith. It is related to smite, or to strike. A person who hammers metal into shape. It's only if you are lazy, you don't like real work, or if you don't share values of craftpersons who make actual, real things.

edit -

And first name's "meaning" was from some spiritual floaty misty book. The actual literally meaning would give it away too easily. It has to do with worshipping wine.

Worshiping wine <--- Bacchus ?