Arndt
A German surname from a short form of Arnold, meaning roughly "eagle ruler" or "eagle power."
The #2,576 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,005 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Arndt is a German surname formed from a short form of the old personal name Arnold. Arnold comes from Germanic name elements usually explained as arn, "eagle," plus wald, "rule" or "power." In that sense, the surname began as a patronymic label for someone identified as "son of Arnd" or related to a man named Arnold.
History
German surname collections from the 19th and early 20th centuries treat Arndt as a reduced form related to Arnold, with variant spellings such as Arnd and Arendt. It is especially associated with German-speaking areas and later spread more widely through emigration, including to North America. The name is also familiar from the writer and nationalist thinker Ernst Moritz Arndt, which helped keep the surname recognizable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same ancient name element behind Arndt appears in many Germanic names with an eagle connection, including Arnold and Arnold-related diminutives.
From the historical record
“Anna, f. Arend, Arnd, Arndt, m. (Arnold) ; 1 fam. n., Arends I Arjen or Arien, m. ; fam. n., Arjens, Ariens, Arjes”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)Notable people named Arndt
- Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769–1860)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.