German placename etymology
Encyclopedia
Placenames in the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 area
can be classified by the language from which they originate, and by their age.

Suffixes

  1. -ach, ("river"). Examples: Echternach
    Echternach
    Echternach is a commune with city status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg....

    , Salzach
    Salzach
    The Salzach is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Inn and is 225 kilometres in length.The river's name is derived from the German word Salz, meaning "salt". Until the 19th century shipping of salt down the river was an important part of the local economy...

    .
  2. -au, -aue (related to rivers or water), see German words Au
    Au
    -Science:*Absorbance Units, a reporting unit in spectroscopy*Astronomical unit, the average distance between the Earth and the Sun *Atomic units, a system of units convenient for atomic physics and other fields...

     or Aue. This meaning of -au (earlier spelling ow, owe, ouwe) describes settlements by streams and rivers. Example: Passau
    Passau
    Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....

    , a town Aue
    Aue
    Aue is a small town in Germany at the outlet of the river Schwarzwasser into the river Mulde in the Ore Mountains, and has roughly 18,000 inhabitants. Aue was the administrative seat of the former district of Aue-Schwarzenberg in Saxony, and is part of the Erzgebirgskreis since August 2008...

    , rivers named Aue.
  3. -bach or Low German -bek ("stream", "beck"). Examples: Amorbach
    Amorbach
    Amorbach is a town in the Miltenberg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,100 inhabitants .- Location :...

    , Reinbek
    Reinbek
    Reinbek is a town located in Stormarn district in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein within the metropolitan region of Hamburg...

    , Wandsbek
    Wandsbek
    Wandsbek is the second-largest of seven boroughs that make up the city of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes here. The quarter Wandsbek, which is the former independent city, is urban and, with the quarters Eilbek and Marienthal part of the...

  4. -brücken or -brück ("bridge"). Examples: Saarbrücken
    Saarbrücken
    Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....

    , Osnabrück
    Osnabrück
    Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...

    , Innsbruck
    Innsbruck
    - Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

    .
  5. -bühl, or -bühel ("hill"). Examples: Dinkelsbühl
    Dinkelsbühl
    Dinkelsbühl is a historic city in Bavaria, Germany and a former Free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Now it belongs to the district of Ansbach, north of Aalen.-History:...

    , Kitzbühel
    Kitzbühel
    -Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...

  6. -burg ("keep
    Keep
    A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

    ", borough
    Borough
    A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

    ). Examples: Hamburg
    Hamburg
    -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

    , Luxembourg
    Luxembourg (city)
    The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...

    , Regensburg
    Regensburg
    Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...

     (on the river Regen), Salzburg
    Salzburg
    -Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

     ("Salt City", a Medieval name), Straßburg
    Strasbourg
    Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

     (Strasbourg).
  7. -berg ("mountain"). Examples: Heidelberg
    Heidelberg
    -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...

    , Nürnberg
    Nuremberg
    Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

     (Nuremberg), Königsberg
    Königsberg
    Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

     ("king's mountain", now Kaliningrad)
  8. -dorf or -torf ("village"). Example: Düsseldorf
    Düsseldorf
    Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

    .
  9. -feld or -felde ("field"). Examples: Bielefeld
    Bielefeld
    Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...

    , Mansfeld
    Mansfeld
    Mansfeld is a town in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Wipper, 10 km northwest of Eisleben....

    .
  10. -furt ("ford"). Examples: Erfurt
    Erfurt
    Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

    , Frankfurt
    Frankfurt
    Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

    .
  11. -hagen ("hedged field or wood"). Example: Hanshagen
    Hanshagen
    Hanshagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

  12. -halde oder -halden ("hillside", "slope"; cognate to Norwegian Halden
    Halden
    is a both a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The seat of the municipality, Halden is a border town located at the Tista river delta on the Iddefjord, the southernmost border crossing between Norway and Sweden.-History:...

    ). Examples: Haldensee
    Haldensee
    Haldensee is a lake of Tyrol, Austria....

    , Osshalden near Crailsheim
    Crailsheim
    Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, 32 km east of Schwäbisch Hall, 40 km southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district, incorporated in 1338....

  13. -heim ("home"). Examples: Mannheim
    Mannheim
    Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

    , Bad Windsheim
    Bad Windsheim
    Bad Windsheim is a small historic city in Bavaria, Germany. It lies in the district Neustadt an der Aisch - Bad Windsheim, west of Nuremberg....

  14. -haven, or -hafen ("harbour", "port", "haven"). Examples: Wilhelmshaven
    Wilhelmshaven
    Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

    , Bremerhaven
    Bremerhaven
    Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...

    , Friedrichshafen
    Friedrichshafen
    This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...

  15. -hof or -hofen ("farmhouse(s)"). Examples: Diedenhofen
    Thionville
    Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...

     (Thionville), Bechhofen
    Bechhofen
    Bechhofen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany....

  16. -hufe ("hide
    Hide (unit)
    The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...

    "). Example: Grünhufe.
  17. -hausen ("houses"). Examples: Mülhausen
    Mulhouse
    Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...

     (Mulhouse), Mühlhausen
    Mühlhausen
    Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...

    , Schaffhausen
    Schaffhausen
    Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....

    .
  18. -ing or -ingen, -ungen, -ung, -ens (meaning "descendants of", used with a personal name as the first part; cognate to the English place name suffix -ing as in Reading
    Reading, Berkshire
    Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

    ). Examples: Göttingen
    Göttingen
    Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...

    , Straubing
    Straubing
    Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held....

    , Esens.
  19. -kirchen or -kirch ("church"). Examples: Neunkirchen
    Neunkirchen
    Neunkirchen is a name common to multiple locales:-In Austria:*Neunkirchen, Austria, the capital of the district Neunkirchen in Lower Austria*Neunkirchen District, Austria-Bavaria:*Neunkirchen am Brand, in Forchheim district...

    , Feldkirch
    Feldkirch
    Feldkirch can refer to:In Austria:* Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district* Feldkirch , an administrative division of VorarlbergIn France:* Feldkirch, Haut-Rhin, a commune in France....

    .
  20. Low German
    Low German
    Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...

     -oog (Northwest) or -öhe, -oie, -ee (Northeast) (= "small island"). Examples: Dutch Schiermonnikoog
    Schiermonnikoog
    Schiermonnikoog is an island, a municipality, and a national park in the northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland....

    , Hiddensee
    Hiddensee
    Hiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East German tourists during German Democratic Republic times and continues to...

    .
  21. -roth, -rath, -rode, -reuth, or -rade ("clearing"). Examples: Roth, Wernigerode
    Wernigerode
    Wernigerode is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,500 in 1999....

    , Overath
    Overath
    Overath is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Overath is located about 25 km east of Cologne, in the Bergisches Land...

    . It can also be used as the prefix Rade-: Radebeul
    Radebeul
    Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...

    , Radevormwald
    Radevormwald
    Radevormwald is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the oldest towns in the Bergischen Land, formerly the County and Duchy of Berg.-Geography:Radevormwald is located about 50 km east of Cologne...

    .
  22. -stadt, -stedt, -stätt, or -stetten ("settlement", "town", "place"; cognate to the English place name suffix -stead as in Walstead
    Walstead
    Walstead is a hamlet located one and a half kilometres south east of Lindfield, West Sussex, England. The hamlet is the home of Great Walstead School, Paxhill Park Golf Course and a nursing home at Walstead Place, a country house built in 1852....

    ). Examples: Darmstadt
    Darmstadt
    Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

    , Neustadt, Eichstätt
    Eichstätt
    Eichstätt is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the District of Eichstätt. It is located along the Altmühl River, at , and had a population of 13,078 in 2002. It is home to the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the lone Catholic university in Germany. The...

    .
  23. -tal or -thal ("valley", "dale"). Examples: Wuppertal
    Wuppertal
    Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

    , Roßtal
    Roßtal
    Roßtal is a market town in the district of Fürth, Bavaria, Germany. As of 2003 it had a population of 10,010.-External links:*...

    , St. Joachimsthal
    Jáchymov
    For other places called Joachimsthal, see Joachimsthal Jáchymov . compl: "Sant Joachim's Sthal" is a spa town in north-west Bohemia in the Czech Republic belonging to the Karlovy Vary Region. It is situated at an altitude of 733 m above sea level in the eponymous St...

  24. -um (North Germany), -heim (South and Central Germany, Switzerland, Alsace
    Alsace
    Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

    ), -ham / -am (Bavaria and Austria), -hem / -em (West) (all cognate to English home and the English place name suffix -ham). Examples: Alkersum
    Alkersum
    Alkersum is a municipality in the Nordfriesland district, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.-Politics:Since the communal elections of 2008, the Alkersumer Wählergemeinschaft holds all nine seats in the municipality council....

    , Bochum
    Bochum
    Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

    , Borkum
    Borkum
    Borkum is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany.-Geography:Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait , to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea, and to the south by the Wadden Sea...

    , Pforzheim
    Pforzheim
    Pforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...

    , Kirchham
    Kirchham
    Kirchham is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....

    , Schiltigheim
    Schiltigheim
    Schiltigheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.The inhabitants are called Schilikois in French and Scheligemer in Alsatian....

  25. -wald or -walde ("forest"). Examples: Greifswald
    Greifswald
    Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...

    , Regenwalde
  26. -wang, -wangen, or -wängle ("meadow"; cognate to Norwegian Vang
    Vang
    Vang is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of "Vang i Valdres"...

    ). Examples: Feuchtwangen
    Feuchtwangen
    Feuchtwangen is a city in Ansbach district in the administrative region of Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Geography:Geographically and geologically the land around Feuchtwangen comprises the eastern part of the Swabian-Franconian Escarpment Land , also sometimes called the gypsum-keuper...

    , Ellwangen
    Ellwangen
    Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen , in common use simply Ellwangen is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany...

    , Nesselwängle
    Nesselwängle
    Nesselwängle is a municipality in the Austrian district of Reutte, Tyrol.- External links :* *...

  27. -wend, or -winden (meaning small Slavic
    Wends
    Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...

     settlements in Germanic surroundings). Examples: Bernhardwinden near Ansbach
    Ansbach
    Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...

    , Wenden near Ebhausen
    Ebhausen
    Ebhausen is a town in the district of Calw in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

  28. -werth, -wörth, or -ort ("island", "holm"). Example: Kaiserswerth, Donauwörth
    Donauwörth
    Donauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria , in the region of Swabia . It is said to have been founded by two fisherman where the Danube and Wörnitz rivers meet...

    , Ruhrort
    Ruhrort
    Ruhrort is a district within the German city of Duisburg situated north of the confluence of the Ruhr and the Rhine, in the western part of the Ruhr area...


Prefixes

  • Prefixes can be used to distinguish nearby settlements with an otherwise same name. They can be attached or stand alone. Both settlements that are to be distinguished can have opposing prefixes (e.g. Niederschönhausen and Hohenschönhausen), but it is also common to attach the prefix only to one of them (e.g. Stettin and Neustettin).

  1. Alt-, Alten- or Low German Olden- ("old"). Examples: Alt Eberstein
    Alt Eberstein
    File:Ebersteinburg Mosaik.jpgThe ruins of Alt-Eberstein, previously known as Schloss Eberstein . It is near the town of Ebersteinburg, just outside of the city of Baden-Baden, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany....

    , Altenberg
    Altenberg, Germany
    Altenberg is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, close to the border with the Czech Republic, 15 km northwest of Teplice, and 32 km south of Dresden....

    , Oldenburg
    Oldenburg
    Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...

  2. Groß- or Großen- ("greater"). Example: Groß Kiesow
    Groß Kiesow
    Groß Kiesow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It consists of* Dambeck* Groß Kiesow* Groß Kiesow-Meierei* Kessin* Klein Kiesow* Klein Kiesow-Kolonie* Krebsow* Sanz...

    , Großenhain
    Großenhain
    Großenhain is a Große Kreisstadt in the district of Meißen, Saxony, Germany.-History:...

  3. Hoh-, Hohen-, Höch- or Hoch- ("high(er)", "upper"). Examples: Hohenschönhausen
    Hohenschönhausen
    Hohenschönhausen was a borough of Berlin, that existed from 1985 until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. It was composed by the localities of Alt-Hohenschönhausen , Neu-Hohenschönhausen, Malchow, Wartenberg and Falkenberg.-Overview:...

    , Hohkönigsburg
    Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
    The château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg is located at Orschwiller, Alsace, France, in the Vosges mountains just west of Sélestat. The castle is nestled at a strategic location on a high hill overlooking the Alsatian plain; as a result it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty...

    , Höchstadt
    Höchstadt
    -Geography:Höchstadt is situated on the river Aisch, 18 km northwest of Erlangen and 22 km south of Bamberg. Originally it was the capital of the Höchstadt district, but then it became part of the new Erlangen-Höchstadt district.-Division of the town:...

  4. Klein- or Low German Lütten- ("little"). Example: Klein Kiesow
  5. Neu-, Neuen- or Low German Nien- ("new"). Example: Neuburg am Inn
    Neuburg am Inn
    Neuburg am Inn is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....

    , Neuenkirchen
    Neuenkirchen
    Neuenkirchen can refer to several municipalities in Germany:*in Lower Saxony:**Neuenkirchen, Cuxhaven, part of the Samtgemeinde Hadeln, district of Cuxhaven**Neuenkirchen, Diepholz, part of the Samtgemeinde Schwaförden, district of Diepholz...

    , Nienburg
    Nienburg, Lower Saxony
    Nienburg is a town and capital of the district Nienburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-Geography:Situated on the scenic German Framework Road, Nienburg lies on the river Weser, approximately southeast of Bremen, and northwest of Hanover...

  6. Nieder- ("lower"; cognate to the English place name prefix "nether"). Example: Niederschönhausen
    Niederschönhausen
    Niederschönhausen is a German locality within the borough of Pankow, Berlin. It is commonly known also as "Pankow-Schönhausen".-History:...

  7. Ober- ("upper", "higher"), or Oberst- ("uppermost", "highest"). Example: Oberhausen
    Oberhausen
    Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...

    , Oberwesel
    Oberwesel
    Oberwesel is a town on the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Sankt Goar-Oberwesel, whose seat is in the town.-Location:...

    , Oberstdorf
    Oberstdorf
    Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide...

  8. Wendisch-, Windisch- (Slovene) ("Wendish") . Example: Wendisch Baggendorf
    Wendisch Baggendorf
    Wendisch Baggendorf is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

    , Windischgarsten
    Windischgarsten
    Windischgarsten is a municipality in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems in Upper Austria, Austria with a population of 2442. Since 1964, the town has been classified as a Luftkurort, a mountain spa town.- Geography :...

    . This sometimes refers (particularly in present and former Austrian territories) to the original language of the inhabitants. Other examples: Böhmisch Krummau (Česky Krumlov), Unter-Deutschau (Nemška Loka).
  9. Unter- ("lower"; literally "under"). Example: Unterliederbach
    Unterliederbach (Frankfurt am Main)
    Unterliederbach is a district or Stadtteil of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk West, and is subdivided into the Stadtbezirke Unterliederbach-Ost, Unterliederbach-Mitte and Unterliederbach-West....


  • Prefixes can also have a descriptive character. Examples are Lichten- or Lichter- ("open range", e.g. Lichtenhagen
    Lichtenhagen
    Lichtenhagen, from the oldgerman designation for Clear Grove is the name for many urban places like* Rostock-Lichtenhagen, borough of Rostock, Germany* Elmenhorst/Lichtenhagen, Bad Doberan, Germany* neighoughood of Friedland, Landkreis Göttingen, Germany...

    ), Schön- or Schöne- ("nice", e.g. Schönwalde
    Schönwalde
    Schönwalde may refer to the following places in Germany:*Schönwalde, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a municipality in the district Uecker-Randow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern*Schönwalde, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in the district of Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt...

    ), Grun- or Grune- ("green", e.g. Grunwald
    Grunwald
    Grunwald may refer to:* Battle of Grunwald, a decisive battle fought in 1410 in what is now northern Poland* Grunwald, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, a village near the site of the battle* Gmina Grunwald, a municipality containing the village of Grunwald...

    ).

  • Prefixes can also be used to indicate an (earlier) possession of the site. Examples are Kirch- ("ecclesial possession", e.g. Kirch Jesar
    Kirch Jesar
    Kirch Jesar is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The village was first mentioned in 1371....

    ), Bischofs- ("a bishop's possession", e.g. Bischofswerda
    Bischofswerda
    Bischofswerda is a small town in Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony.-Geography:The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is known as the "Gateway to Upper Lusatia" - "Tor zur Oberlausitz" in German. It is...

    ), Grafen- ("a count's possession", e.g. Grafenwöhr
    Grafenwöhr
    Grafenwöhr is a town in the district Neustadt , in the region of the Upper Palatinate in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army military installation and training area, called Grafenwöhr Training Area, located directly south and west of the town.- Early History:The...

    ), Königs- ("the king's", e.g. Königs Wusterhausen
    Königs Wusterhausen
    Königs Wusterhausen is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.-Geographical location:Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin...

    , Königsberg
    Königsberg
    Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

    ), Kron- (possession of the crown, e.g. Kronstadt
    Kronstadt
    Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...

    , Rügenwalde (once belonging to the princes of Rügen).

  • Often the name of the village founder or of the first settler constitute the first part of the place name (e.g. Oettingen, the founder was Otto; Gerolfingen
    Gerolfingen
    Gerolfingen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany....

    , the founder was Gerolf, Rappoltsweiler
    Ribeauvillé
    Ribeauvillé is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Its inhabitants are called Ribeauvillois.The picturesque town is located around north of Colmar and south of Strasbourg.-History:...

    , the founder was Ratbald or Ratbert). Mostly in the former Ostsiedlung
    Ostsiedlung
    Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...

     area, the locator's name was sometimes included as the first part of the name (e.g. Hanshagen
    Hanshagen
    Hanshagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

    , the locator was Hans).

Attachments

Sometimes a descriptive word is attached to a new settlement, that was once budding of another one and except for the attached word has the same name.
  1. (...)-Siedlung ("settlement")
  2. (...)-Hof ("farm"), sometimes carrying an additional roman number (e.g. Sanz Hof IV)
  3. (...)-Ausbau ("expansion")


Also, a river or the province can be attached to a settlement to distinguish it from a (even distant) one carrying the same name. The distinguishing word is added in parentheses or connected to the name by an der, am, ob der ("at"), auf ("upon") or in, im ("in"), or separated by a backslash. Examples are Frankfurt an der Oder (also written Frankfurt (Oder), Frankfurt a.d. Oder, Frankfurt/Oder, Frankfurt/O.), Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...

, Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is...

 (also written Bergen (Rügen)) and Lauenburg in Pommern (also Lauenburg i.Pom.).

Others

The old Germanic Gaue districts were established by Charlemagne; earlier German spellings were Gowe, Gouwe. One can still find the old Gouwe (Gau) for example in Haspengouw (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 name of Hesbaye
Hesbaye
Hesbaye or Haspengouw , is a region spanning the south of the Belgian province of Limburg, the east of the Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, and the northwestern part of the province of Liège.The Limburgish portion contains the cities of Tongeren, Sint-Truiden, Bilzen and...

) or Gäu as in Allgäu
Allgäu
The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps...

.

German names from modern times

They usually follow the established patterns.
  • Wuppertal
    Wuppertal
    Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

     ("Wupper
    Wupper
    The Wupper is a right tributary to the Rhine river in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous area of the Bergisches Land Berg County and enters the Rhine at Leverkussen, south of Düsseldorf...

     valley"), Karl-Marx-Stadt
    Chemnitz
    Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...

     ("Karl Marx
    Karl Marx
    Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...

     city", name for Chemnitz during the DDR
    German Democratic Republic
    The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...

     era), Wilhelmshaven
    Wilhelmshaven
    Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

     ("William's harbour", referring to King William I of Prussia
    William I, German Emperor
    William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...

    ).

German placenames deriving from other languages

  1. Celtic
    Celtic languages
    The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

     names
    , used in prehistoric
    Prehistory
    Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...

     times in the southern and western parts of the German language area. Examples: Mainz
    Mainz
    Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...

     (from Latin Moguntiacum, derived from a Celtic name), Remagen
    Remagen
    Remagen is a town in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one hour drive from Cologne , just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the River Rhine. There is a ferry across the Rhine from Remagen every 10–15 minutes in the summer...

     (from Latin Rigomagus, from a Celtic name meaning "king's field"), Wien
    Vienna
    Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

     (Vienna) (from Latin Vindobona and Celtic Vedunia, meaning "forest brook"), Zürich
    Zürich
    Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

     (Zurich) (from the Celtic word Turus; the antique name of the town in its Romanized form was Turicum.)
  2. Latin
    Latin
    Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

     names
    :
    • from classical
      Classical antiquity
      Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

       times, when the southern and western parts of the German language area belonged to the Roman Empire
      Roman Empire
      The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

      . Examples: Koblenz
      Koblenz
      Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

       (from Confluentes "joining rivers"), Köln
      KOLN
      KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...

       (Cologne) (from Colonia "colony"), Aachen
      Aachen
      Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

       (from Aquae "springs"), Augsburg
      Augsburg
      Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

       and Augst
      Augst
      Augst is a municipality in the district of Liestal in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.It was known as Augusta Raurica in roman times-History:...

       (from Augusta "city of Augustus
      Augustus
      Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

      " and the Germanic suffix -burg).
    • from medieval
      Middle Ages
      The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

       times, when Latin was the language of church and administration. Examples: München (Munich) (from monachus, "monk"), Münster
      Münster
      Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...

       (from monasterium, "monastery"), Neumünster
      Neumünster
      Neumünster is an independent town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, which has a total of four independent towns.-Current Situation:Neumünster station is major railway junction with lines running in six directions, including the important Hamburg-Altona–Kiel and Neumünster–Flensburg lines.Near...

      , Fraumünster
      Fraumünster
      The Fraumünster abbey in Zurich was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the Benedictine convent with the lands of Zurich, Uri, and the Albis forest, and granted the convent immunity, placing it under his direct authority.- History :In 1045, King Henry III...

      , Grossmünster
      Grossmünster
      The Grossmünster is a Romanesque-style church in Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the three major churches in the city . The core of the present building near the banks of the Limmat River was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, which was, according to legend, originally commissioned...

      . See also minster
      Minster (cathedral)
      Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most famously York Minster. The term minster is first found in royal foundation charters of the 7th century; and, although it corresponds to the Latin monasterium or monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living...

      .
  3. Slavic
    Slavic languages
    The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...

     names
    : Prior to the medieval Ostsiedlung
    Ostsiedlung
    Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...

    , Slavic languages
    Slavic languages
    The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...

     like Polabian
    Polabian language
    The Polabian language is an extinct West Slavic language that was spoken by the Polabian Slavs in present-day North-Eastern Germany around the Elbe river, from which derives its name...

    , Sorbian
    Sorbian languages
    The Sorbian languages are classified under the Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. They are the native languages of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. Historically the language has also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code...

    , Pomeranian
    Pomeranian language
    The Pomeranian language is a group of dialects from the Lechitic cluster of the West Slavic languages. In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by the Slavic Pomeranians...

    , and Slovenian
    Slovenian language
    Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...

     were spoken in the eastern parts of the Holy Roman Empire
    Holy Roman Empire
    The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

    . The German settlers and administration in many cases adopted existing Wendish
    Wends
    Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...

     placenames, for example Rostock
    Rostock
    Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...

     (from Old Polabian rostok, "river fork"), Dresden
    Dresden
    Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

     (from Sorbian Drežďany), and Berlin
    Berlin
    Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

     (possibly from a Polabian word meaning "Swamp"). For the same reason, many German placenames ending in -anz (e.g. Ummanz
    Ummanz
    Ummanz is a small island situated off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany.Its area is 20 km². Together with the neighboring islands Rügen and Hiddensee it is administrated as the district Rügen....

    ), -gard (e.g. Burg Stargard
    Burg Stargard
    Burg Stargard is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated southeast of Neubrandenburg.Burg Stargard is a small town in Mecklenburg Strelitz...

    ), -gast (e.g. Wolgast
    Wolgast
    Wolgast is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom that can be accessed by road and railway via a bascule bridge...

    ), -itz (e.g. Lancken-Granitz
    Lancken-Granitz
    Lancken-Granitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Near the villages of Lancken and Burtevitz are several megalith tombs from the Neolithic....

    ), -ow (e.g. Gützkow
    Gützkow
    Gützkow is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 18 km south of Greifswald at the Peene River's northern bank. Gützkow was the center of the medieval County of Gützkow.-History:...

    ), and -vitz or -witz (e.g. Malschwitz
    Malschwitz
    Malschwitz, Sorbian Malešecy, is a municipality in the east of Saxony, Germany. It belongs to the district of Bautzen and lies 6 km northeast of the eponymous city.- Geography :The municipality is situated in the Upper Lusatian flatland.- Villages :...

    ) have Slavic roots. Due to spelling and pronunciation changes over the centuries, the original Wendish term in most cases is not preserved. Also, some placenames combine a German with a Wendish term (e.g. Altentreptow
    Altentreptow
    Altentreptow is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Tollense, 15 km north of Neubrandenburg. Until 1939 the city's name was Treptow an der Tollense....

    ). The German suffix -au
    Au
    -Science:*Absorbance Units, a reporting unit in spectroscopy*Astronomical unit, the average distance between the Earth and the Sun *Atomic units, a system of units convenient for atomic physics and other fields...

    can be related to the Slavic -ow and -ov when derived from the Old German spelling (u= w =double u; e.g. Prenzlau
    Prenzlau
    Prenzlau , a city in the Uckermark District of Brandenburg in Germany, had a population of about 21,000 in 2005.-International relations:Prenzlau is twinned with: Uster, Switzerland Barlinek, Poland Świdwin, Poland...

     was earlier spelled Prenzlow).

See also

  • Exonym and endonym
    Exonym and endonym
    In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...

  • German exonyms
    German exonyms
    Below is list of German language exonyms for formerly German places and places in non-German-speaking areas of the world :-Links to more extensive lists:Belgium* List of German exonyms for places in BelgiumCroatia...

  • German names for Central European towns
    German names for Central European towns
    This article deals with the historic German language names of towns and cities in Central Europe.Many place names in Central Europe, mostly in the former German Empire and Austria-Hungary, but now located in non-German-speaking countries, have traditionally had equivalents in the German language...

  • List of English exonyms for German toponyms
  • List of European exonyms
  • Toponomy

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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