Germans have been drawn to Canada for generations. If you are one of the over 3 million Canadians with German heritage, your surname could yield some interesting clues to your family history.*
The most common form of German family name is occupational. It can often be identified by its ending: -er, -hauer, -macher, or man/-mann.
Often a person was distinguished by a reference to his or her father. This is referred to as “patronymic.”
Many German surnames are descriptive names based on a physical characteristic, such as size or hair colour.
Lastly, geographical names derive from where a person lived or came from. They may stem from the name of a city or village or the location of someone’s home.
What does your last name mean? Find out.
*According to the 2016 Canadian census, there are over 3.3 million Canadians of German ethnicity.