Schubert
A German occupational surname originally referring to a shoemaker or shoe-maker.
The #2,856 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,447 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schubert is generally explained as an occupational name connected with making or repairing shoes. It belongs to a wider German surname group based on Middle High German words for shoe work and crafts, with related forms such as Schubart and Schuchardt. Older surname dictionaries also connect it with an obsolete word for a shoemaker or cobbler, rather than with the modern German word for shoe alone.
History
The name is long established in German-speaking areas and became common enough to generate many regional spelling and sound variants. It is well known through notable bearers such as the composer Franz Schubert, which helped make the surname familiar beyond German-speaking countries. In immigrant communities, the spelling was often preserved, though pronunciations sometimes shifted toward local patterns.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th- and early-20th-century surname scholars grouped Schubert with other very common German occupational names like Müller and Schmidt.
From the historical record
“gebilde sind. Besser ist in dieser Hinsicht eine Namengebung wie: Schubert, Edler von dem Kleefelde (wegen seiner Verdienste um den Kleebau geadelt, Pott, Personennamen S. 3), und Escher von der Linth, wie der Staatsrat Escher wegen Regelung des Laufes der Linth und Austrocknung der durch diesen Fluß gebildeten…”
— Die deutschen FamiliennamenNotable people named Schubert
- Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.