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German Surnames Trivia Quiz

Can you match the meanings or occupations from which these common German surnames are derived? I'm sure you can. Have fun proving me right.

A multiple-choice quiz by shvdotr. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
shvdotr

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
360,461

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
729

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. According to About.com, the most common German surname in 2012 was M�ller. What occupation do you suppose the first Germans named M�ller practiced? Hint

building houses

measuring distances on roads

grinding wheat into flour

fishing from a river

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Question 2 of 10

2. Second on the list of common German surnames is the name Schmidt. What occupation would this most accurately suggest? Hint

weaponmaker

poet (i.e., "wordsmith")

blacksmith

roadbuilder

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Question 3 of 10

3. Third on the German surnames list is Schneider. If "schneiden" means "to cut", what occupation would the original Schneiders have most likely practiced? Hint

butcher

woodsman

swordsman

tailor

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Question 4 of 10

4. The fifth-most common German surname is Weber. What occupation produced this name? Hint

weatherman

weaver

town crier

dress maker

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Question 5 of 10

5. Another common German surname is Sch�fer. If you recognize the word Sch�ferhund, you would know that this occupation in English is what? Hint

sailor

shipper

barber

shepherd

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Question 6 of 10

6. At position 14 on the list of German surnames is Richter. What occupation does the word Richter denote in German? Hint

singer

writer

judge

farmer

7. Number 10 on the list of German surnames is Bauer. If you play the card game 500 or Skat, you will recognize the term as it is applied to the Jacks of an American deck of cards. But what is a Bauer in German? Hint

carpenter

farmer

baker

knight

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Question 8 of 10

8. Another common German surname is Wagner. What American occupation, often associated with a large labor union, would be a good translation of this German word? Hint

longshoreman

carpenter

teacher

teamster

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Question 9 of 10

9. Number 9 on the list of most common German names is Becker, which is actually a form of B�cker. Which of the following occupations in English would be closest to the German meaning of this moniker? Hint

dog catcher

bean counter

pastry chef

tax collector

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Question 10 of 10

10. "Zimmermann" is ranked 23rd on my list of most common German surnames. Which occupation does this name bring to mind to a German speaker? Hint

railroad conductor

plumber

policeman

carpenter

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. According to About.com, the most common German surname in 2012 was M�ller. What occupation do you suppose the first Germans named M�ller practiced?

Answer: grinding wheat into flour

M�ller translates into English as "miller". Furthermore, in my experience, Americans of German descent whose name is Mueller sometimes have their last name pronounced "Miller".

2. Second on the list of common German surnames is the name Schmidt. What occupation would this most accurately suggest?

Answer: blacksmith

Three other forms of the name Schmidt are also ranked high in the About.com list. Schmitt is ranked 24th, Schmid is ranked 26th, and Schmitz is ranked 28th, making this name perhaps the overall most common.

3. Third on the German surnames list is Schneider. If "schneiden" means "to cut", what occupation would the original Schneiders have most likely practiced?

Answer: tailor

The Grimm brothers' tale of "The Brave Little Tailor" is originally titled "Das tapfere Schneiderlein", where "Schneiderlein" is a combination of the word "Schneider" for tailor, plus the suffix "lein", meaning little or young. For example, the word "Fr�ulein" (girl) is a combination of "Frau", meaning woman, and the diminutive "lein".

4. The fifth-most common German surname is Weber. What occupation produced this name?

Answer: weaver

Two of my favorite German Webers include the philosopher Max Weber, one of the founders of sociology, and Constanze Weber, wife of W.A. Mozart. In addition, "Die Weber" ("The Weavers") is a play by Gerhart Hauptmann. It is an interesting drama in that there is no main character. Rather, the weavers who make up the characters function more importantly as a group representing the working class struggling for their rights.

5. Another common German surname is Sch�fer. If you recognize the word Sch�ferhund, you would know that this occupation in English is what?

Answer: shepherd

In America we call the Sch�ferhund a German shepherd. Staying with the "Schaf" connection, the card game we call in America "Sheepshead" came from the German game "Schafkopf", "Schaf" meaning sheep and "Kopf" meaning head. An argument for the name of the game is because scoring marks on a chalkboard resembled a sheep's head.

6. At position 14 on the list of German surnames is Richter. What occupation does the word Richter denote in German?

Answer: judge

A quick informal googling for "Judge Richter" in June of 2013 found news items on the internet for judges named Richter, including those residing in Iowa, Missouri, the District of Columbia, New York, Indiana, and at least three in Texas. There have been no US Supreme Court justices named Richter, however.

Answer: farmer

The term "bauer" is also used for the jacks in such card games as 500. Modern German playing cards have a "B" on the Jacks, which stands for "Bub" or "Bube", which means boy. Card games such as 500, which use the jacks as high cards in the deck, are derived from German card games such as Skat and Schafkopf, in which the jacks are the highest cards, with the Jack of Clubs being the highest.

8. Another common German surname is Wagner. What American occupation, often associated with a large labor union, would be a good translation of this German word?

Answer: teamster

"Wagner" can be translated as either a driver of wagons (wagoner) or a maker and/or repairer of wagons (wainwright or cartwright).

Answer: pastry chef

In German a B�ckerei is a bakery. Perhaps a pastry chef is not technically a baker, but it is definitely the closest of the four choices.

10. "Zimmermann" is ranked 23rd on my list of most common German surnames. Which occupation does this name bring to mind to a German speaker?

Answer: carpenter

Other German words for carpenter include Tischler, Schreiner, and Bautischler. "Tisch" is the German for table, and "Schrein" is a receptacle for holy relics, two items traditionally made of wood and being of great importance, since earthly food is taken at a table and spiritual nourishment, one might say, would be housed in a shrine. "Zimmer" is a room, so a Zimmermann would be someone who builds houses, which are also vital to survival.

Source: Author shvdotr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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