Origin
Baden : 1: North German and Danish: patronymic from Bade.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): probably an adoption of the German surname (see 1 above).2: English: habitational name from a place called Bayden in Sussex which is referred to in 17th-century documents but unlocated (it is possibly to be identified with Bainden a manor in Mayfield Sussex) or from Baydon in Wiltshire. The latter is from Old English beg + dūn meaning ‘berry hill’.
Badnall : from Baden Hall in Eccleshall (Staffs) itself from an Old English given name such as Badda + halh ‘nook corner; watermeadow’. There may well have been some confusion with Bagnall.
Balmer : 1: English and Scottish: occupational name for a seller of perfumes and balms from a Middle English balmer baumer ‘seller of balsam or ointment’ an agent derivative of Middle English balme baume ‘balm balsam; any aromatic or soothing ointment’ (Old French basme balme baume; Latin balsamum ‘aromatic resin’).2: South German and Swiss German: habitational name for someone from any of the places in Switzerland and Baden called Balm which almost certainly get their names from a Celtic word meaning ‘cave’.3: German: from the ancient Germanic personal name Baldemar composed of the elements bald ‘bold’ + mar ‘famous’.
Baumbach : German: habitational name from a place called Baumbach for example in Hesse Baden Westphalia.
Belling : 1: German: habitational name from any of several places called Belling in Pomerania Baden Hesse Thuringia and elsewhere.2: English (Devon): perhaps from the Middle English personal name Belling Beling of uncertain origin (perhaps from Old English Bǣdling an original nickname from bǣdling ‘effeminate man’). Alternatively a variant of Billing.
Bernauer : German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Bernau for example in Baden Bavaria or Württemberg.
Bettinger : 1: German: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Bettingen for example near Cologne Trier and in Baden.2: Probably also an altered form of German Böttinger (see Boettinger).3: French: habitational name for someone from Betting in Moselle.
Biehl : 1: German: habitational name from any of several places so named in Baden and Bavaria.2: North German: from Middle Low German bil ‘hatchet’ Middle High German biel; hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who made or used hatchets.3: South German: variant of Bühl (see Buehl).
Bohlander : 1: German (also Bohländer): habitational name for someone from a place in Baden called Bohland or from Bolanden in the Palatinate and Bolande in Schleswig-Holstein. The placename Bolanden takes its name from a 13th century castle and neighboring village which is derived from an older field name Bonlande(n) meaning ‘bean field’. Compare Bohland Bohlender and Bolander.2: Swedish: variant of Bolander. This surname is rare in Sweden.
Bohlinger : German: habitational name for someone from a place called Bohling in Baden or Bohlingen in Württemberg.
Bollenbach : German: habitational name from a place in Baden called Bollenbach.
Boxberger : German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): habitational name for someone from any of the eight places called Boxberg in Baden Hesse former Silesia (now Poland) and Rhineland.
Brumbach : German: habitational name from any of various places called Brombach in Hesse Baden and Bavaria. Compare Brownback Brumback and Brumbaugh.
Buehl : South German (Bühl): topographic name for someone who lived on a hillside from Middle High German bühel ‘hill’ or a habitational name from a place called Bühl for example in Baden. Compare Buhl.
Burbach : German: habitational name from Burbach in Baden or Hesse.
Burgner : German: probably an altered form of Burgmer which is from a personal name formed with Old High German burc ‘castle’ or a habitational name for someone from Burgheim near Lahr Baden reflecting the local pronunciation of the placename. The surname Burgner is rare in Germany Compare Burgener.
Burkheimer : German (Bürkheimer): habitational name for someone from either of two places called Burkheim in Baden and Bavaria. Compare Burkhamer and Burkhammer.
Castleberry : Americanized form of German Kesselberg: habitational name from any of the places in Baden Rhineland and Bavaria named Kesselberg. The surname Kesselberg is very rare in Germany. Compare Casselberry.
Crouthamel : Americanized form of German Krauthamer a variant of Krautheimer a habitational name for someone from any of several places called Krautheim in Baden Bavaria and Thuringia.
Dafferner : South German (mainly Baden-Württemberg):: 1: occupational name for an inn- or tavern-keeper Middle High German tavernære a borrowing from Latin tabernarius.2: alternatively a habitational name for someone from Tafern in Baden. This surname is very rare in Germany.
Dech : German (mainly Palatinate and Baden): from a Germanized short form of any of various Slavic personal names composed with the element teh ‘comfort consolation’ (see Tech). It was formerly also found among Danube Swabians in Hungary in the region of Bácska which now almost entirely belongs to Serbia.
Denninger : German: habitational name for someone from Denning in Bavaria or Danningen near Messkirch in Baden.
Dertinger : German: habitational name for someone from Derdingen in Württemberg or Dertingen in Baden.
Dilger : German:: 1: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Dillingen (in Bavaria near Luxembourg or in the Saarland) or from Tüllingen near Lörrach in Baden.2: metronymic from the female personal name Dilg.
Dillinger : 1: German: habitational name for someone from Dillingen near Augsburg or Tüllingen in Baden.2: English (Lincolnshire): habitational name from Drellingore in Kent recorded as Dillynger in 1264 from the Old English personal name Dylla + -ing- denoting association + Old English ōra ‘hill slope’.
Eichel : 1: South German: habitational name from Eichel in Baden.2: German: topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of an acorn.3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): adoption of 1.
Epting : German: habitational name from any of various places called Eptingen for example in Baden and Switzerland.
Farabaugh : Americanized form of German Fa(h)renbach a habitational name from any of numerous places so named in Hesse Baden and Bavaria or of Fehrenbach.
Farner : South German and Swiss German:: 1: habitational name for someone from a place called Farn near Oberkirch or Fahrnau in Baden. Compare Fahrner.2: probably also a topographic name from Middle High German vār ‘furrow border trail’ for someone who lived by a marked thoroughfare or carriage way.
Finkenbinder : Americanized form of German Finkenbeinder a variant of Finkbeiner commonly found in Baden and Württemberg.
Fricker : 1: English: topographic name from Middle English freke frike + the suffix -er equivalent to atte freke for someone who lived by a wood. See Freed 2 and Frick.2: Swiss German and German: variant of Frick 2.3: German and Swiss German: habitational name for someone from the Frick valley in Baden.
Fringer : 1: German: habitational name for someone from Efringen Baden.2: Possibly an Americanized form of German Wringer: occupational name for the operator of a cider or oil press or a nickname for an oppressor from an agent derivative of Middle Low German wringen ‘to twist or turn to torture’.
Gersbach : Swiss German: habitational name from a place so named northeast of Lörrach in Baden.
Goetzinger : German (Götzinger): habitational name for someone from any of the three places called Götzing and Gotzing in Bavaria or from Götzingen in Baden. Compare Getsinger.
Haslag : Americanized form of South German Haslach: habitational name from one of three places called Haslach in Baden Württemberg or Bavaria.
Heidelberg : German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of the places called Heidelberg of which the best-known example is in Baden.
Herbolsheimer : German: habitational name for someone from either of two places called Herbolzheim in Baden and Bavaria.
Hoell : German (Höll):: 1: variant of Hell 3.2: habitational name from any of several places so named in Bavaria Württemberg and Baden.
Hottinger : German: habitational name for someone from Hotting in Bavaria or Hottingen near Waldshut in Baden.
Howald : German: habitational name from any of several places so named for example in Westphalia and Baden or a topographic name from Middle High German hō ‘high’ + walt ‘forest’. This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine).
Kisselburg : Americanized form of German Kesselburg a habitational name from any of several places called Kesselberg in the Rhineland Bavaria and Baden.
Kressler : German: habitational name for someone from Kressel in Baden. Compare Cressler.
Lehning : German: habitational name from a place called Lehningen near Pforzheim in Baden. This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine).
Leimer : German:: 1: occupational name for a worker with clay from an agent derivative of Middle High German leim ‘clay’.2: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Leimen in the Palatinate and Baden.
Moring : 1: English (Northamptonshire and London): variant of Morrin.2: North German (Möring): patronymic from Mohr.3: North German (Möring): habitational name from Möringen in Saxony-Anhalt and Westphalia or Möhringen in Baden Württemberg and Pomerania.
Morsch : German:: 1: (also Mörsch): topographic name for someone living near a bog from an adjectival derivative of German Moor (Middle Low German mōr) ‘swamp’ or a habitational name from any of the places called Mörsch in Baden and the Palatinate.2: variant of Marsch.3: variant of Mursch.
Muehling : German (Mühling):: 1: nickname for a troubled or awkward person derived from Middle High German müelich ‘difficult (to get on with) troublesome’.2: habitational name from Mühlingen in Baden.
Mundinger : German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Mundingen in Württemberg and Baden.
Murbach : German: habitational name from any of several places so called in Baden Bavaria and Alsace.
Offenberger : German: habitational name for someone from any of various places called Offenberg or from Offenburg in Baden.
Oser : German:: 1: from a personal name composed of ancient Germanic ans ‘god’ + heri hari ‘army’.2: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Oos for example in Baden.3: (Öser): see Oeser.
Overcash : Americanized form of South German Oberkirch a habitational name meaning ‘upper church’ from a place so named in Baden (or possibly from any of the places called Oberkirchen in Westphalia and Saar district).
Pfaffenberger : South German: habitational name for someone from any of several places in southern Germany named Pfaffenberg (see Pfaff + Berg) for example near Lörrach in Baden. Compare Buffenbarger Poffenberger and Puffenberger.
Rastetter : German: habitational name for someone from Rastatt in Baden.
Reiling : German:: 1: habitational name for someone from Reilingen in Baden.2: possibly from a derivative of Reil 1.
Richner : German and Swiss German: habitational name for someone from Richen in Baden or in the case of the Swiss surname from Riehen near Basel.
Riedlinger : South German: habitational name for someone from any of several places called Riedlingen in Baden Bavaria and Württemberg.
Riegel : German:: 2: from Middle High German rigel ‘bar crossbeam mountain incline’ hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbars locks etc. or a topographic name for someone who lived near and was in charge of the village gate which separated the settlement from the adjacent fields. Compare Rigel.1: habitational name from any of numerous places in Baden Brandenburg and Silesia named Riegel (see 2 below).
Rothweiler : German: habitational name for someone from either of two places called Rottweil in Württemberg and Baden.
Schabacker : German: possibly a topographic name from Middle Low German schāp ‘sheep’ + acker ‘field pasture’ or an altered form of Schapbacher shortened to Schabacher from a place called Schapbach near Freudenstadt in Baden.
Schindel : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name for someone who made or laid roof tiles from Middle High German schindel German Schindel ‘shingle wooden tile’.2: South German: habitational name from any of the places called Schindel or Schindeln in Baden.
Schwender : German:: 1: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Schwende (see Schwendemann) or Schwend(t) in Baden Bavaria Württemberg Switzerland or a topographic name for someone living in a cleared area in the forest (compare 2 below).2: occupational name from Middle High German swenden ‘to clearcut areas of forests’ for a wood cutter lumberjack.
Schwenger : 1: South German: habitational name shortened from a place called Schweningen in Baden or from an ancient Germanic personal name Swaniger composed with swana ‘swan’ as the first element.2: North German: nickname from Middle Low German swengen ‘to swing turn about’ probably referring to a person's gait.
Sendelbach : German: habitational name from any of the places so called near Lohr on the Main river and near Oberkirch in Baden.
Sickinger : South German: habitational name for someone from Sickingen in Baden or Sicking in Bavaria.
Steidinger : South German (Württemberg Baden): topographic name formed like Staudinger from the collective noun Steiding ‘wilderness thicket’; compare Steidle.
Sullenberger : German; habitational or topographic name from any of different areas called Sollenberg or from Schallenberg in Baden.
Tannen : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of several places in Lower Saxony or Baden named with German Tanne(n) ‘pine’ or from a short form of any of the many compound names formed with this element.2: Jewish (American): shortened form of Tannenbaum.
Tief : German:: 1: from a short form of the ancient Germanic personal name Theudofrid composed of the elements theud ‘people race’ + fridu ‘peace’.2: topographic name for someone who lived in low-lying terrain from Middle High German tief ‘low’ or a habitational name from Tiefen in Baden.
Tombaugh : Americanized form of North German Tombach:: 1: topographic name from to dem bach ‘at the creek’; perhaps a hybrid form as Bach is standard German bek(e) being the Low German form.2: habitational name from any of the places in Hesse Baden and Bavaria called Dombach (earlier Tunbach from tun tan ‘mud’).
Trimberger : German: habitational name for someone from Trimberg in Baden.
Veitenheimer : German: habitational name for someone from a lost or unidentified placename perhaps Feitenheim in Baden.
Wambach : German: habitational name from any of various places so called in Hesse Bavaria and Baden.
Weil : South German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places so named in Baden Bavaria and Württemberg from Latin villa ‘country house estate’ (later used of a group of houses forming a settlement). This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine). Compare Wile 3.
Weinheimer : German: habitational name for someone from any of the places called Weinheim for example in Baden and Hesse.
More
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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