German
A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone from Germany, though in some cases it came from the old word for a close kinsman.
The #2,182 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,531 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname German can come from the Latin/Old French-rooted word for a close relative, especially a first cousin: Latin germanus meant “of the same stock” or “full-blooded.” In surname use, however, it was also often applied as an ethnic or regional label for someone thought to be of German origin. The name may also have been reinforced by the popularity of Saint Germanus in medieval Britain.
History
Lower notes that German was an old personal name in Britain, associated with St. German in the fifth century, and he also allows that some bearers may have taken the name from nationality or origin. In English records, surnames from ethnic labels were often applied to newcomers or people believed to come from a particular country, so the surname could arise in more than one way. The later surname may therefore combine inherited forename use with descriptive ethnic use.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The phrase cousin-german is a fossil of the older sense of German meaning a close blood relative, not a person from Germany.
From the historical record
“Names, &c. GERMAN. GER^IxUNE. Lat. ger- imnus; of the same stock; a near kmsmau ; thus we say cousin-german for first-cousin. As a personal name it is of great antiquity in Britain, dating from St. German, the suc- cessful opponent of the Pelagian heresy in the fifth century. Possibly in some m- stances it is…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom