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Austrian Last Names

These Austrian last names are real family names from all nine Austrian states, listed A to Z with meanings, from mountain farm names like Pichler and Steiner to trade names such as Bauer, Wagner and Fischer.

248 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Achleitner

    One living on a slope by the water

  • Aichinger

    From Aiching, place of oaks

  • Aigner

    Owner of freehold land (eigen)

  • Aschauer

    From Aschau, ash tree meadow

  • Auer

    One living in a riverside meadow (Au)

B

  • Bauer

    Farmer, peasant

  • Baumgartner

    Orchard keeper

  • Berger

    One living on a mountain

  • Bichler

    One living on a hill (Bichl)

  • Binder

    Cooper, barrel binder

  • Blaha

    Czech origin, Vienna; bliss, a happy person

  • Böhm

    Bohemian, one from Bohemia

  • Brandner

    One living on a burnt clearing

  • Brandstätter

    From a burnt clearing (Brandstatt)

  • Brugger

    One living by a bridge (Brücke)

  • Brunner

    One living by a well or spring

C

  • Chalupa

    Czech origin; cottage, cottager

  • Czerny

    Czech origin, Vienna; black, dark-haired

D

  • Dolezal

    Czech origin; one who lay about, lazy

  • Dolinschek

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; valley dweller (dolina)

  • Dvorak

    Czech origin, Vienna; manor worker (dvůr, court)

E

  • Ebner

    One living on flat land (Ebene)

  • Ecker

    One living on a ridge or corner

  • Eder

    One living on wasteland or remote land (Öd)

  • Egger

    One living on a ridge or corner (Eck)

  • Ennsthaler

    From the Enns valley

  • Ertl

    Pet form of Ortolf or similar name

F

  • Fellner

    One living by a landslide area (Fall)

  • Fink

    Finch, a cheerful person

  • Fischer

    Fisherman

  • Friedl

    Pet form of Friedrich

  • Fritz

    Pet form of Friedrich

  • Fuchs

    Fox, a sly or red-haired person

  • Fuchsberger

    From the fox hill

G

  • Gasser

    One living on a lane (Gasse)

  • Grabner

    One living by a ditch or trench (Graben)

  • Graf

    Count, or a count's official

  • Grandits

    Burgenland Croatian; possibly from granica, border

  • Grassl

    Possibly from grass, a meadow dweller

  • Gratzer

    From Graz

  • Grill

    Cricket, a lively person

  • Gruber

    One living in a hollow or pit (Grube)

  • Gschwandtner

    One living on a cleared area (Gschwandt)

H

  • Haas

    Hare, a timid or swift person

  • Hackl

    Little axe, a woodcutter

  • Haider

    One living on a heath (Heide)

  • Hajek

    Czech origin, Vienna; little grove

  • Hammer

    Smith at a hammer mill

  • Haslinger

    From a place among hazel bushes

  • Hauser

    One from a house or hamlet

  • Havlicek

    Czech origin; little Havel (Gall)

  • Hawelka

    Czech origin, Vienna; little Havel (Gall)

  • Heinzl

    Pet form of Heinrich

  • Hinterberger

    One living behind the mountain

  • Hinterhofer

    Farmer of the rear farmstead

  • Hinterleitner

    One living behind the slope

  • Hirsch

    Stag, or a house sign

  • Hochegger

    From the high ridge or corner

  • Hochleitner

    One living on the high slope

  • Hochreiter

    One from the high clearing

  • Hödl

    Possibly from Hödel, a pet form of a Germanic name

  • Hofbauer

    Farmer of the manor farm

  • Hofer

    Farmer of a large farmstead (Hof)

  • Hofmann

    Farm steward or courtier

  • Hofstätter

    From a farmstead site (Hofstatt)

  • Holub

    Czech origin, Vienna; pigeon

  • Holzer

    Woodcutter or forest dweller

  • Hölzl

    Little wood, a forest dweller

  • Horvat

    Croatian origin; Croat

  • Horvath

    Croat, from Hungarian horvát

  • Hrdlicka

    Czech origin; turtle dove

  • Hribernig

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; hill dweller (hrib)

  • Hruby

    Czech origin, Vienna; coarse, rough

  • Huber

    Holder of a hide of farmland (Hube)

  • Humer

    Possibly from Hube, a hide of land

  • Hütter

    Hut dweller, or smelter worker

I

  • Innerhofer

    Farmer of the inner farmstead

J

  • Jäger

    Hunter

  • Janda

    Czech origin, Vienna; pet form of Jan

  • Jelinek

    Czech origin, Vienna; little stag

K

  • Kainz

    Short for Konrad

  • Kaiser

    Emperor, a nickname

  • Karner

    Carinthian, or charnel house keeper

  • Kastner

    Granary keeper (Kasten)

  • Kaufmann

    Merchant

  • Kern

    Kernel, core; possibly a strong person

  • Kerschbaumer

    One living by a cherry tree

  • Kirchmair

    Steward of church land

  • Klein

    Small

  • Klima

    Czech origin, Vienna; from Kliment (Clement)

  • Knapp

    Squire, or miner's apprentice

  • Koch

    Cook

  • Kofler

    One living by a rocky peak (Kofel)

  • Kogelnik

    Carinthian; Kogel hilltop with Slovene -nik suffix

  • Kogler

    One living by a rounded hilltop (Kogel)

  • Kolar

    Czech origin, Vienna; wheelwright

  • Kopeinig

    Carinthian, Slovene origin; possibly from kopa, haystack

  • Kotrba

    Czech origin; meaning uncertain, possibly from kotrba, a colloquial word for head

  • Kowatsch

    Slavic origin, Carinthia; smith (kovač)

  • Kral

    Czech origin, Vienna; king

  • Kranzl

    Little wreath, a garland maker

  • Krassnitzer

    Carinthian; from a place, possibly Slovene krasen, beautiful

  • Kratochwil

    Czech origin, Vienna; pastime, merry person

  • Kraus

    Curly-haired

  • Krejci

    Czech origin; tailor

  • Kröll

    Curly-haired, from Middle High German krol, curly

  • Kubelka

    Czech origin; little tub or bucket

  • Kuchar

    Slavic origin; cook

  • Kurz

    Short person

  • Kutschera

    Czech origin, Vienna; curly-haired (Kučera)

L

  • Lackner

    One living by a pool (Lacke)

  • Lang

    Tall person

  • Lechner

    Feudal tenant (Lehen)

  • Lehner

    Feudal tenant (Lehen)

  • Leitgeb

    Innkeeper, one who serves cider (Leit)

  • Leitgöb

    Innkeeper, variant of Leitgeb

  • Leitner

    One living on a mountain slope (Leite)

  • Lindner

    One living by linden trees

  • Lipusch

    Slovene origin; possibly from lipa, linden

  • Loidl

    Possibly a pet form of Leopold or another name with liut, people

M

  • Maier

    Steward or tenant farmer

  • Mair

    Steward or tenant farmer, Tyrolean spelling

  • Malle

    Carinthian; possibly Slovene mali, small

  • Maurer

    Mason

  • Mayer

    Steward or tenant farmer of an estate

  • Mayr

    Steward or tenant farmer, Bavarian spelling

  • Mayrhofer

    From the steward's farmstead

  • Mischitz

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; possibly from Miha (Michael)

  • Mischkulnig

    Carinthian, Slovene origin; meaning uncertain

  • Mitterer

    One living on the middle farm

  • Mitterhofer

    Farmer of the middle farmstead

  • Moosbauer

    Farmer by the bog

  • Moosbrugger

    From the bridge over the bog (Vorarlberg)

  • Moser

    One living by a moor or bog

  • Mühlbacher

    From the mill brook

  • Müller

    Miller

N

  • Nagy

    Hungarian origin, Burgenland; big

  • Neubauer

    New farmer, settler on a new farm

  • Neumann

    Newcomer

  • Niederhuber

    Holder of the lower farm

  • Novak

    Czech or Slovene origin; newcomer

  • Nowak

    Czech or Polish origin; newcomer

  • Nowotny

    Czech origin, Vienna; new settler

O

  • Oberhofer

    Farmer of the upper farmstead

  • Oberhuber

    Holder of the upper farm (Hube)

  • Obermayr

    Steward of the upper farm

  • Obermüller

    Miller of the upper mill

  • Ogris

    Carinthian Slovene; meaning uncertain

  • Ortner

    One living at the end or edge (Ort)

P

  • Pawlik

    Czech or Polish origin; little Pavel (Paul)

  • Petschnig

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; possibly from peč, rock

  • Pfeifer

    Piper, musician

  • Pfeiffer

    Piper, musician

  • Pichler

    One living on a hill (Bichl, Bühel)

  • Pichlmayr

    Steward of the hill farm

  • Pirker

    One living by birch trees (Birke)

  • Plank

    Board, or one living by a plank fence

  • Pointner

    One living by an enclosed field (Point)

  • Pokorny

    Czech origin, Vienna; humble, meek

  • Pöll

    Possibly from a pet form of Paul

  • Pölzl

    Possibly a pet form of Balthasar

  • Posch

    Bush or thicket (Busch)

  • Pospischil

    Czech origin, Vienna; one who hurried

  • Pototschnig

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; one by the brook (potok)

  • Prinz

    Prince, a nickname

  • Prohaska

    Czech origin, Vienna; a walk, wanderer

  • Proksch

    Czech origin; from Prokop (Procopius)

R

  • Rabl

    Little raven, a dark-haired person

  • Rainer

    One living by a field boundary (Rain)

  • Ramsauer

    From Ramsau, meadow of wild garlic

  • Rauch

    Smoke, or hairy (rauh)

  • Reichl

    Pet form of a name with rich, powerful

  • Reisinger

    From Reising, a place name

  • Reiter

    Rider, or one living on a clearing (Reut)

  • Resch

    Brisk, lively (rösch)

  • Rieder

    One living by reeds or a cleared area (Ried)

  • Riegler

    One living by a bar or ridge (Riegel)

  • Rosenberger

    From Rosenberg, rose hill

S

  • Sadovnik

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; orchard keeper

  • Schachner

    One living by a small wood (Schachen)

  • Schmid

    Smith

  • Schmidt

    Smith

  • Schneider

    Tailor

  • Schober

    One who stacks hay (Schober)

  • Schrammel

    Possibly scar, a scarred person

  • Schuster

    Shoemaker

  • Schwaiger

    Dairy farmer on an alpine farm (Schwaige)

  • Schwarz

    Black-haired or dark-skinned

  • Schwarzenegger

    From the black ridge or corner

  • Sedlacek

    Czech origin, Vienna; small farmer

  • Seidl

    Possibly from Seidel, a mug, or a pet form of Siegfried

  • Skala

    Czech origin; rock, cliff

  • Sladek

    Czech origin; maltster

  • Smetana

    Czech origin; cream

  • Smole

    Slovene origin; resin (smola), a pitch maker

  • Stadler

    Barn keeper (Stadel)

  • Stadlmayr

    Steward of the barn farm

  • Stangl

    Little pole, a tall thin person

  • Staudinger

    From a place among shrubs (Stauden)

  • Stefanits

    Burgenland Croatian; son of Stefan

  • Steiner

    One living by stones or rocky ground

  • Stepanek

    Czech origin; little Štěpán (Stephen)

  • Stocker

    One clearing tree stumps (Stock)

  • Stockinger

    From Stocking, a cleared place

  • Stöger

    One living by a footbridge (Steg)

  • Strasser

    One living by a road (Straße)

  • Strobl

    Tousled hair (strobelig)

  • Supan

    Slovene origin, Carinthia; village headman (župan)

  • Swoboda

    Czech origin, Vienna; freedom, a free man

T

  • Tauber

    Pigeon keeper, or from the Tauber river

  • Thaler

    One living in a valley (Tal)

  • Thurner

    Tower keeper, or from a tower

  • Tichy

    Czech origin; quiet

  • Tischler

    Joiner, cabinetmaker

  • Tomaschek

    Czech origin; little Tomáš

  • Tomasits

    Burgenland Croatian; son of Tomas

  • Toth

    Hungarian origin; Slovak, Slav

U

  • Unger

    Hungarian

  • Unterberger

    One living below the mountain

  • Untersteiner

    One living below the rocks

  • Uschnig

    Carinthian, Slovene origin; meaning uncertain

W

  • Wagner

    Cartwright, wagon maker

  • Walenta

    Czech origin; from Valentin

  • Wallner

    Possibly pilgrim (wallen), or from Wald

  • Wanek

    Czech origin (Vaněk); pet form of Václav or Jan

  • Weber

    Weaver

  • Wedenig

    Carinthian, Slovene origin; meaning uncertain

  • Weinberger

    One living by a vineyard

  • Weinzierl

    Vine dresser, vineyard worker

  • Weiss

    White, fair-haired

  • Wesely

    Czech origin, Vienna; merry, cheerful

  • Wieser

    One living by a meadow (Wiese)

  • Wiesinger

    From Wiesing, a meadow place name

  • Wimmer

    Tenant of church land (Widem)

  • Winkler

    One living in a corner or nook (Winkel)

  • Wlaschek

    Czech origin (Vlášek); pet form of Blažej (Blaise) or of names like Vlastimil

  • Wodicka

    Czech origin, Vienna; little water (vodička)

  • Wolf

    Wolf

  • Wondrak

    Czech origin; from Ondřej (Andrew)

  • Wurm

    Worm or dragon, a nickname

  • Wutte

    Carinthian; possibly of Slovene origin, meaning uncertain

Z

  • Zach

    Short for Zacharias

  • Zauner

    Fence maker, one living by a fence (Zaun)

  • Zechner

    Possibly a mine worker (Zeche)

  • Zelenka

    Czech origin; little green one

  • Zeller

    From Zell, a place near a monastic cell

  • Zeman

    Czech origin, Vienna; yeoman, landowner

  • Zöhrer

    Possibly a drinker, reveller (zehren)

Generate random austrian surnames

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Results (6)

  • Mitterhofer

    Farmer of the middle farmstead

  • Wutte

    Carinthian; possibly of Slovene origin, meaning uncertain

  • Nagy

    Hungarian origin, Burgenland; big

  • Maurer

    Mason

  • Gasser

    One living on a lane (Gasse)

  • Novak

    Czech or Slovene origin; newcomer

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    The most common Austrian last names and meanings

    Gruber and Huber usually top the Austrian rankings, and both describe a farm. Gruber comes from Grube, a hollow or pit, and Huber from Hube, a standard unit of farmland held by a tenant. In Germany the leaders are trade names like Müller, Schmidt and Schneider, so the landscape emphasis is one of the clearest differences between the two countries. Bauer (farmer), Wagner (cartwright), Müller (miller) and Fischer are also near the top in Austria.

    Pichler comes from Bichl or Bühel, a small hill, Steiner from a stony place, Moser from Moos, a bog, and Berger from Berg, mountain. Mayer, in its many spellings, meant the steward who ran an estate for a landlord. Egger comes from Egg, a ridge or corner, Aigner from eigen, a man who owned his own land, and Lechner from Lehen, land held in fief. Auer comes from Au, a river meadow, and Winkler from a corner or nook.

    Regional flavour from Tyrol to Burgenland

    The alpine west is rich in farm names. In Tyrol and Salzburg, names like Hofer, Egger, Mair, Kofler and Rainer are especially familiar. Hofer recalls Andreas Hofer, the innkeeper who led the Tyrolean uprising of 1809. The spellings Mair and Mayr are typical of Tyrol and Upper Austria, while Maier and Mayer are common across the country. Vorarlberg, where people speak an Alemannic dialect, has names closer to those of eastern Switzerland.

    The south and east bring other influences. In Carinthia, names ending in -nig, such as Kogelnig, often began as Slovene names in -nik. Burgenland, which belonged to Hungary until 1921, has Hungarian names like Horvath, Nagy and Toth and names of the Burgenland Croats, often spelled with -ich. Vienna mixes all of these with the Czech names brought by migrants in the 19th century. A single street in the capital can hold names from half a dozen languages.

    Tips for spelling and searching Austrian names

    Austrian German uses the umlauts ä, ö and ü and the letter ß. In English records these become ae, oe, ue and ss, so Müller turns into Mueller and Groß into Gross. Mayer, Maier, Mair, Mayr and Meier are all versions of the same name, so try each one. Farm position prefixes are worth knowing too. Ober means upper, Unter lower, Mitter middle and Hinter behind, giving names like Oberhuber, Unterberger, Mitterer and Hinterberger.

    Watch for false friends. Reiter looks like rider, but in Austria it often comes from Reut, a clearing in the forest. When writing a historical character, remember that Austria abolished noble titles in 1919, so the particle von is not used in Austrian names today, even by families who carried it before. A modern Austrian of noble descent would simply be called by the family name, while a novel set before 1918 can use von freely.

    Frequently asked questions

    Which Austrian last names come from farm positions?

    Names beginning with Ober (upper), Unter (lower), Mitter (middle), Hinter (behind) or Vorder (front) describe where a farm stood on a slope or in a valley. Oberhuber, Unterberger, Mitterer and Hinterberger are typical examples, especially in the alpine states.

    Does Reiter mean rider?

    Sometimes, but in Austria it more often means someone who lived on a Reut, land cleared from forest for farming. The same root appears in place names across the Alps. Context and region usually decide which meaning applies to a particular family.

    Why don't Austrians use von in their names?

    A law passed in 1919, after the fall of the Habsburg monarchy, abolished noble titles and the particle von in Austria. The law is still in force, so families of noble descent use only their surname in official documents, unlike in Germany.

    How should I write Müller without an umlaut?

    The standard replacement is Mueller, with an e after the vowel. Writing Muller without the e is also common in English, but it changes the sound. The same rule gives Moessmer for Mößmer and Baer for Bär.

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