# Germany (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/germany/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Latin |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 3,825 |
| US rank (2010) | 8,606 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 80,718 people |
| Change since 2000 | +8.4% (3,529 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒɝ.mə.ni/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Germanie, from Old English Germanie & Germania, from Latin Germānia (“land of the Germans”), from Germānī, a people living around and east of the Rhine first attested in the 1st century B.C.E. works of Julius Caesar and of uncertain etymology. The exonym was said by Strabo to derive from germānus (“close kin; genuine”), making it cognate with germane and german, but this seems unsupported. Attempts to derive it from Germanic or Celtic roots since the 18th century are all problematic, although it is perhaps cognate with the Old Irish gair (“neighbour”). Doublet of Germania. In reference to a medieval kingdom, English Germany is usually an anachronism using the Roman name to describe the area or calquing various Latin terms like rex Teutonicorum ("king of the Teutons"), which were often derogatory exonyms rather than formal titles.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Germany in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 43% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 51% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Similar surnames

German, Germain, Germann, Germano, Germaine, Gorman, Garman, Garmon, Geronimo, Greenman, Greening, Grennan.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.