Amish Last Names

These Amish last names are real family names of Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities in North America, listed A to Z with meanings. Most arrived from Switzerland and the Palatinate, and a small set, like Yoder, Miller and Stoltzfus, repeats widely.

130 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

Allgyer

Anglicized from German Allgäuer, from the Allgäu region

German

B

Bauman

From German Baumann, farmer or peasant

German
Beachy

Anglicized from Swiss German Bitsche

German
Beery

Anglicized from Swiss German Bieri

German
Beiler

Swiss German Beiler or Bühler, dweller on a hill

German
Bender

German, cooper or barrel maker

German
Blank

German, bright or shining

German
Bontrager

Anglicized from German Borntrager, well carrier or water bearer

German
Borntrager

German, well carrier or water bearer

German
Brenneman

From German Brennemann, charcoal burner or distiller

German
Brenner

German, charcoal burner or distiller

German
Brubacher

Swiss German, dweller by a marsh stream

German
Brubaker

Anglicized from Swiss German Brubacher, marsh stream

German
Burkholder

Anglicized from Swiss German Burkhalter, dweller by a birch slope

German
Byler

Anglicized from Swiss German Beiler, dweller on a hill

German

C

Chupp

Anglicized from Swiss German Tschupp or Schupp

German
Coblentz

German, from the city of Koblenz

German

D

Detweiler

From German Dettweiler, from a place name

German
Diener

German, servant or attendant

German
Dienner

From German Diener, servant

German

E

Eash

Anglicized from German Esch, dweller by ash trees

German
Eberly

Anglicized from German Eberle, little boar

German
Ebersol

Swiss German Ebersold, possibly boar-related farm name

German
Ebersole

Variant of Ebersol, from Swiss German Ebersold

German
Eby

Anglicized from Swiss German Äbi or Ebi

German
Eicher

German, dweller by an oak tree

German
Esch

German, dweller by ash trees or a field

German
Esh

Anglicized from German Esch, dweller by ash trees

German

F

Fisher

Anglicized from German Fischer, fisherman

German
Frey

German, free man

German
Fry

Anglicized from German Frei, free

German

G

Gehman

German, possibly from a short form of Gerhard

German
Gerber

German occupational name, a tanner

German
Gingerich

Swiss German, from the Germanic name Gundrich

German
Gingrich

Variant of Gingerich, from the Germanic name Gundrich

German
Girod

French-Swiss, from the Germanic name Gerwald

French
Glick

Anglicized from German Glück, luck

German
Good

Anglicized from Swiss German Guth, good

German
Graber

German, digger or ditch maker

German
Groff

Anglicized from German Graf, count

German

H

Hartzler

Swiss German, possibly resin gatherer

German
Helmuth

German, from a Germanic name, helmet and mind

German
Herr

German, lord or master

German
Hershberger

From German Hirschberger, from Hirschberg, deer mountain

German
Hertzler

Swiss German, possibly from Herz, heart

German
Hess

German, a person from Hesse

German
Hilty

Swiss German, from a pet form of Hildebrand

German
Hochstedler

Variant of Hochstetler, from Hochstetten

German
Hochstetler

Swiss German, from Hochstetten, high place

German
Hoover

Anglicized from Swiss German Huber, holder of a hide of land

German
Horst

German, dweller by a thicket or wooded rise

German
Hostetler

Anglicized from Hochstetler, from Hochstetten

German
Hurst

Anglicized from German Horst, wooded rise

German
Huyard

Possibly of French Huguenot origin; Lancaster Amish name

French

J

Jantzi

Swiss German, pet form of Johannes

German

K

Kanagy

Anglicized from Swiss German Gnaegi

German
Kauffman

From German Kaufmann, merchant

German
Kaufman

From German Kaufmann, merchant

German
Keim

German, sprout or seed; possibly a nickname

German
Kempf

German, champion or fighter

German
King

Anglicized from German König, king

German
Kinsinger

German, from a place name such as Kinzing

German
Knepp

German, possibly from Knopf, button or knob

German
Kropf

German, nickname for a man with a goitre

German
Kuepfer

German Küpfer or Kupfer, coppersmith

German
Kurtz

From German kurz, short in stature

German

L

Lambright

Anglicized from German Lamprecht, bright land

German
Landis

Swiss German, from Landolt, land ruler

German
Lantz

German Lanz, from a short form of Landolt

German
Lapp

Swiss German, possibly a nickname for a simple person

German
Lehman

From German Lehmann, feudal tenant

German
Lengacher

Swiss German, from Lengacher, long field

German

M

Martin

From the Latin name Martinus; common among Old Order Mennonites

German
Mast

German, fattened or stout; also a ship's mast maker

German
Maust

Swiss German, variant of Mast, stout

German
Miller

Anglicized from German Müller, miller

German
Mullet

Anglicized from Swiss German Müllet or Müller

German
Musser

Anglicized from Swiss German Moser, dweller by a bog

German

N

Nafziger

Swiss German, from a place name

German
Newswanger

Anglicized from Swiss German Neuenschwander, new clearing

German
Nisley

Anglicized from Swiss German Nüssli, little nut

German
Nissley

Anglicized from Swiss German Nüssli, little nut

German
Nolt

Swiss German, possibly from a short form of Arnold

German

O

Oberholtzer

Swiss German, dweller at the upper wood

German
Otto

German, from the given name Otto, wealth

German

P

Peachey

Anglicized from Swiss German Bitsche or Pitsche

German
Petersheim

German, home of Peter; a farm name

German
Plank

German, dweller by a plank bridge or fence

German

R

Raber

German Raber, possibly from Rabe, raven

German
Ramer

German, possibly from Rahm, cream

German
Reiff

German, from a pet form of a Germanic name

German
Renno

Possibly French or German; Big Valley Amish name

German
Riehl

German Rühl, from a pet form of Rudolf

German
Ropp

German or Alsatian, possibly from Rupp, Rupert

German
Roth

German, red; for red hair

German

S

Sauder

Anglicized from German Sauter, tailor or shoemaker

German
Schlabach

German, from a place name, dweller by a stream

German
Schmucker

German, jeweller or maker of ornaments

German
Schrock

German, possibly from schrag, crooked or slanting

German
Schwartz

German, black; for dark hair or complexion

German
Sensenig

From Swiss German Sensenich or Sensenig, scythe maker

German
Shenk

Anglicized from German Schenk, cupbearer

German
Shirk

Anglicized from Swiss German Schürch

German
Slabaugh

Anglicized from German Schlabach

German
Smoker

Anglicized from German Schmucker, jeweller

German
Smucker

Anglicized from German Schmucker, jeweller or decorator

German
Snyder

Anglicized from German Schneider, tailor

German
Sommers

German, summer; for someone linked to that season

German
Speicher

German, granary keeper

German
Stauffer

Swiss German, from Stauf, a steep rocky hill

German
Stoll

German, a stout or clumsy person

German
Stoltzfoos

Variant of Stoltzfus, from German Stoltzfuss, proud foot

German
Stoltzfus

German Stoltzfuss, proud foot; the most common Lancaster Amish name

German
Stutzman

Swiss German, dweller by a steep slope

German
Swartz

Anglicized from German Schwarz, black

German
Swartzentruber

Swiss German, from Schwarzentrub, a farm or place name in the Emmental

German

T

Troyer

Anglicized from Swiss German Dreier or Treyer

German

U

Umble

Possibly anglicized from German Umbel or Humbel

German

W

Wagler

Swiss German, possibly a wagon maker

German
Wagner

German, wagon maker

German
Weaver

Anglicized from German Weber, weaver

German
Wenger

Swiss German, from Wengen, meadow slope

German
Wengerd

Swiss German, variant of Wenger, meadow slope

German
Wickey

Swiss German, possibly from Wicki, a farm name

German
Witmer

Anglicized from Swiss German Widmer, holder of church land

German

Y

Yoder

From Swiss German Joder, a form of Theodor

German
Yutzy

Anglicized from Swiss German Jutzi

German

Z

Zehr

Swiss German, possibly from a place name

German
Zimmerman

From German Zimmermann, carpenter

German
Zook

Anglicized from Swiss German Zug, from the canton of Zug

German

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Results (6)

Hoover

Anglicized from Swiss German Huber, holder of a hide of land

German
Borntrager

German, well carrier or water bearer

German
Hostetler

Anglicized from Hochstetler, from Hochstetten

German
Eicher

German, dweller by an oak tree

German
Swartzentruber

Swiss German, from Schwarzentrub, a farm or place name in the Emmental

German
Yutzy

Anglicized from Swiss German Jutzi

German

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Common Amish last names by settlement

Each large settlement has its own familiar names. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you will meet Stoltzfus, King, Fisher, Beiler, Lapp, Zook, Esh, Glick, Riehl, Smucker, Petersheim and Ebersol again and again. King is an English form of König, Fisher of Fischer and Zook of the Swiss name Zug or Zaugg. Stoltzfus joins stolz, proud, with Fuss, foot, and most Amish Stoltzfus families trace their line to a single immigrant who arrived in the 1760s.

In Holmes County, Ohio, and the settlements of northern Indiana, the leading names are different: Miller, Yoder, Troyer, Hershberger, Mast, Raber, Schlabach, Hochstetler, Bontrager, Kauffman, Gingerich and Stutzman. Yoder comes from Joder, a Swiss form of Theodore, and Miller from Müller. In Adams County, Indiana, the Swiss Amish carry names such as Schwartz, Eicher, Graber, Hilty, Girod and Lengacher, which arrived with a later wave of immigrants in the 19th century.

Where these names came from in Europe

Amish and Mennonite families trace their roots to the Swiss Anabaptists of the 16th century, many from the canton of Bern. Persecution pushed families into Alsace and the Palatinate, where the Amish took shape under Jakob Ammann in the 1690s. From the 1700s, many crossed to Pennsylvania, drawn by William Penn's promise of religious freedom. A second wave in the 1800s settled Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Ontario, bringing some names that are rare in Lancaster.

Clerks in America often wrote names as they heard them, so German spellings shifted. Huber became Hoover, Weber became Weaver, Guth became Good and Schneider became Snyder. Byler and Beiler are two spellings of one name. Old Order Mennonite families share this history and many of the same patterns, with names such as Martin, Weaver, Zimmerman, Hoover, Burkholder, Brubaker, Nolt, Horning, Hurst and Wenger especially familiar in Lancaster County and in the Waterloo region of Ontario.

Tips for reading and using Amish last names

Because so few names are shared by so many people, Amish communities rely on other ways to tell people apart. A father's name is often joined to a child's, so John the son of Eli becomes Eli's John. Nicknames based on a trade, a farm location or a personal habit are common too, and middle initials help on paper. In a Lancaster church district, several men might be named John Stoltzfus, and everyone still knows exactly who is who.

If you are writing about Amish life, match the surname to the settlement. A Stoltzfus or Zook belongs naturally in Lancaster County, a Yoder or Hershberger in Holmes County, and a Schwartz or Eicher in Adams County, Indiana. Remember that many people named Miller, King or Fisher have no Amish link, and many families with Amish names left the church generations ago. Treat the names as belonging to real living communities and avoid using them for caricature.

Frequently asked questions

Why do Amish last names repeat so often?

Most Amish families descend from a fairly small group of 18th and 19th century immigrants, and few outsiders have joined the church since. Marriages mostly take place within the community, so the same founding surnames have been passed down for many generations in each settlement.

Is Miller an Amish name?

Miller is one of the most frequent names in the Ohio and Indiana settlements, where it comes from the German Müller. It is also one of the most common surnames in the United States generally, so most people named Miller have no Amish background at all.

How do Amish people tell apart people with the same name?

They use a mix of methods. A father's or husband's first name is often added, as in Eli's John, and nicknames based on a job, a place or a feature are common. Middle initials and the name of a church district also help.

Are Old Order Mennonite names different from Amish names?

They overlap a great deal, because both groups come from Swiss and South German Anabaptists. Names like Martin, Weaver, Hoover, Zimmerman and Burkholder are especially typical of Old Order Mennonites, while Stoltzfus, Yoder and Beiler are more often Amish.