Surname Altemüller - Meaning and Origin
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Altemüller: What does the surname Altemüller mean?
The last name Altemüller is of Germanic origin, derived from either the German words ‘alt’ and ‘müller’ or ‘alte’ and ‘müller’. ‘Alt’ is an archaic version of the German word ‘alt’, meaning ‘old’ while ‘müller’ is a German word referring to someone who grinds grain or a miller. Thus, the last name Altemüller is likely derived from the profession of milling grain and translates to mean ‘old miller’ or ‘old grinder of grain’.
Altemüller can also be a family name, with roots traced to various areas of Germany such as Prussia, Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatine and Saxony. It is likely that the name originated from a German ancestor who was a miller who lived and worked in one of these regions many years ago.
The Altemüller family name is not particularly common, but is not rare either. As of 2018, it was estimated that there were over 1,000 people with the Altemüller surname living in the United States. In Germany, the Altemüller surname is most common in the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Saxony-Anhalt.
Overall, Altemüller is a Germanic surname that likely originates from a family profession of milling grain. It is not rare but is not particularly common either, and can be found in certain regions of Germany and the United States.
Order DNA origin analysisAltemüller: Where does the name Altemüller come from?
The last name Altemüller is most commonly found in Germany today. It is derived from a location name from the Old German word "altem" literally meaning "old" and "müller" which means miller. This topical name would have been given to someone who owned, worked in, or lived near to a mill in northern Germany.
The Altemüller name first appeared as a single name Altemo in 1102’s records of the Grimmenau Monastery in Germany. By 1251, its variant Altemüller, was first noted in the Minau area of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The Altemüller name can also be found in small numbers in Austria, Belarus and Russia, with the majority of the Altemüller population being found in Germany. As of December 2018, most of the Altemüller family can be found in the northern and eastern states of Germany. In Berlin, Hamburg and Bavaria, Altemüller formed 1% of the state’s population. In Schleswig-Holstein, it formed 3% of the population, in Saxony-Anhalt, 5% and in Brandenburg, 6%.
The Altemüller name is slowly increasing in numbers, but it still remains a very small and rare last name in the Germany and the world.
Variations of the surname Altemüller
Altemüller is a German surname whose variants, spellings, and other forms of the same origin stem mostly from the High German and Low German words “alt” and “müller”. The most common variants, spellings, and forms of this surname include:
* Altermueller
* Altemüller
* Altmueller
* Altmüller
* Altemueller
* Altemüller
* Alttemueller
* Alttemüller
All of these variants, spellings, and surnames trace back to the same root language and have similar meanings. The combined words “alt” and “müller” mean “old miller”, implying that the original bearer of this surname was a miller by trade, or was descended from a miller who worked a particular mill.
Variants in other European languages with similar meanings and origins to Altemüller include:
* French: Altmiller, Altmeuller
* Czech: Altmuller, Altmüller
* Hungarian: Altmüller
* Slovak: Altmüller
* Yugoslavian: Altmüller
* Russian: Altmuller/Altmüller
Variants of the same origin, but with divergent meanings, include:
* Altemueller: “old servant/farmhand”
* Althümler: “old cart-wright”
* Altvater: “old father”
Other variants of Altemüller in other languages trace back to other languages and historical contexts:
* Polish: Oltemüller “from Old German”
* Dutch: Dietmuller “diet/folk-miller”
* Scandinavian: Dietmeier “diet/folk-meadow”
All of these variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin share the same medieval origins as “old miller” or other similar occupations.
Famous people with the name Altemüller
- Christoph Altemüller, German philosopher
- Ulf Altemüller, German games theorist
- Brigitte Altemeier, German politician
- Heinrich Altemür, German writer
- Christian August Altemüller, German explorer
- Theodore Altemüller, German physicist
- Louise Altemüller, German journalist
- Karl Altemüller, German composer
- Heinrich August Altemüller, German philosopher
- Hermann Altemüller, German playwright
- Abraham Altemuller, German sculptor
- Hoffmeister Altemüller, German neurologist
- Wilhelm Altemüller, German theologian
- Ulrike Altemüller-Delbrück, German politician
- Johann Friedrich Altemüller, German historian
- Karl Heinrich Altemüller, German architect
- Felice Altemüller, German art historian
- Walter Altemüller, German chef
- Albrecht Altemüller, German engineer
- Julius Altemüller, German politician