Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • North German : metonymic occupational name for a fisherman, from Middle High German dorsch ‘cod’ (a borrowing from Middle Low German dorsch, dors(k), itself a loanword from Old Norse þorskr ‘fish for drying’, since cod was traded as dried fish).
  • South German : from the word for a cabbage stalk or rutabaga, hence a nickname for a cabbage or turnip grower or for a tall thin man.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe