In the course of their research, genealogists often need to identify an ancestor’s origins before they arrived in the United States. There are many types of records that can be used for this research, with varying degrees of usefulness. Naturalization records are an obvious first choice, though early naturalization records are often too vague to be of real use. Census records are often missing data, providing only a country or a region. Vital records are hit or miss, often dependent on when the record was created and who provided the information. I’ve previously written about my success using church records to identify origins in Germany. This is usually a good strategy—but even church records can sometimes leave you empty-handed!  

Back in 2015, my colleague Katrina Fahy wrote about using surname distribution maps to help pinpoint origins when other records are lacking. For German surnames, she suggested Verwandt.de, which now redirects you to the subscription site MyHeritage. For anyone still searching for their German origins, there are several other options. 

1. GeoGen

There are two versions of the surname mapping site GeoGen: the older version and version 4.0. I personally think the older version is a bit more user-friendly, but others may prefer the updated version. Both sites allow you to enter a surname and receive statistics and maps for that surname in present-day Germany. Entering my maiden name “Borstel,” I found 560 entries for the name, and its rank at #6848. The site provides a graph showing the breakdown of Borstels by region, as well as absolute and relative maps showing distribution at the county level. The surname is most commonly found in the county of Stade, just one county east of where my family originated in Land Hadeln. I can also see the total number of times someone has searched for the surname (how many of these were my own searches?) and when the last search was done. This is a quick way to get basic details on a surname with easy-to-read graphs and maps. 

Modern surname distribution map for the name "Borstel"

2. CompGen Surname Distribution Map 

While  GeoGen provides current data on surnames in Germany, the CompGen Surname Distribution Map (Namensverbreitungskarte) allows you to toggle between historical (ca. 1890) and modern (ca. 1996) maps. The two sources used in compiling the maps were German casualty lists from World War I, which give birthplaces (assuming that most of the men who appear on the lists were born circa 1890), and a 1996 country-wide telephone book. While you can zoom in on the CompGen map to see county boundaries and the names of some large towns, the counties themselves are not labeled. An added bonus is that you can display multiple surnames at once. Additionally, this map goes beyond the boundaries of modern Germany to include regions that were part of the German Empire in 1914. 

Surname distribution map of the name "Rolfs" using 1890 sources

3. The Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany 

While not strictly a mapping tool, the Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany (Digitales Familiennamenwörterbuch Deutschlands or DFD) is another great resource for learning about German origins. The introduction page is available in both German and English, but most of the site is in German. I recommend using a browser plug-in for a translation. The site aims to include all surnames in the current German phonebook that have 10 or more entries. Searching a surname in the dictionary gives its frequency, overall rank, language of origin, etymology, meaning, and maps showing its distribution. Searching my married name “Kirchner,” I can quickly see that it is much more common than my maiden name and is found throughout the entire country with concentrations in Hesse, Thuringia, and northern Bavaria. Unlike the maps on the other two sites, the DFD surname maps don’t give any boundaries or place names. This site’s strength is really in the details it provides about meaning and etymology of a name rather than in the maps it provides. 

Dictionary entry of the name "Kirchner" 

Each of the three websites has their own strengths—GeoGen for pinpointing the county with the highest concentration, CompGen for seeing historic data, and DFD for understanding the meaning and history of a surname. Putting all three together, you can use these tools alongside traditional genealogical research to begin to make guesses about where exactly your ancestors came from in Germany. 

For surname distribution maps for other countries, see the FamilySearch Wiki page on the subject. 

Learn More: 

German Databases at American Ancestors