Surname Kreitmayer - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'K'
Kreitmayer: What does the surname Kreitmayer mean?
The last name Kreitmayer is of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) origin, meaning "a family from Kreitmayer." Kreitmayer could be either a place name, referring to either a town or small village, or a habitational name derived from the name of a house in a town or village.
Within German records, Kreitmayer was first mentioned in Sachsen, in the eastern part of Germany. It is likely that Kreitmayer dates back to the late medieval period, when German burghers and their families lived in larger cities or towns. In the 19th century, many families with the surname Kreitmayer moved to the United States and Canada, where many still live today.
Kreitmayer may also have a Jewish origin, as many Ashkenazic Jews adopted various surnames from German locales. It is likely that some of these families adopted the name Kreitmayer while others were actively searching for ancestral roots, or for various other reasons.
Many have adopted the last name Kreitmayer as a symbol of their identity, carrying the name forward from generation to generation. For some, it is a reflection of their German heritage, while for others it is a representation of the various opportunities the name represents.
Order DNA origin analysisKreitmayer: Where does the name Kreitmayer come from?
Today, the last name Kreitmayer can be found mostly in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. In Germany alone, the surname is known to appear most often in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Wurttemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. The name appears to be more common in the southern parts of Europe than in the northern.
Historically, the last name is a patronymic name derived from the given name “Kreit”. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, many people of this surname occupied a range of professions, including agricultural laborer, telegraphist, tailor, innkeeper and carpenter.
Today, some descendant families, specifically located in Germany, carry on traditional ways of life and even bear personal coats of arms. The coats of arms have a partial family crest, typically of a shield with two green laurel branches symbolizing fertility and a third branch of blue with a star, allowing for the ipseity of the name and ancestors.
Most of the individuals with the surname Kreitmayer are believed to be distant relatives, likely related to the Christian Kreitmayer family, as records indicate English, German, and French ancestry from the 18th century.
To this day, many descendants of the original Kreitmayer ancestors continue to retain the surname. Some family members across the world have kept their last name alive by passing it to future generations while others have taken on other surnames based on marriage or personal preference.
Variations of the surname Kreitmayer
The surname Kreitmayer is derived from the German language and is a variation on the surname Kreidmayer or Kreidmeyer. The original meaning of the name is 'one who comes from Kreidmahal' which is a village in Germany. The name can also be spelled as Kreidmayer, Kreidmajer, Kreydmajer and Kreidmair, among other variations.
The alternative spellings of Kreitmayer exist in both English and German language contexts. The English language variant of the surname, Kraytemeyer, usually refers to descendants of an immigrant to the United States who anglicized their name to fit in better with American pronunciation ideals.
A few surnames similar in origin and meaning to Kreitmayer are Kreydtmeyer, Kriedemeyer, Kriete, Krayte, Kreysig, Kreitzmeyer, Krebsmayer, and Kreid. These variations can also be found in different countries due to varying language preferences.
The variations of surnames with the root name Kreitmayer are more common in Central Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria. It was also more common in the United States during the 1880s as one of the countries earliest spellings of the Germanic name.
Most modern families of Kreitmayer descent tend to spell the name Kreidmayer or Kreydtmeyer as this is the most traditional of the variants. Today, the name is found all over the world including in Brazil, the United States, Canada, South America, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Famous people with the name Kreitmayer
- Robert Kreitmayer: Former President of the Austrian National Bank.
- Greg Kreitmayer: Chairman and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
- Jennifer Kreitmayer: Curator of the Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Israel Museum.
- Peter Kreitmayer: Former Vice President of Operations at The Hershey Company.
- Christopher Kreitmayer: Actor best known for his work in the films Outbreak, The Flinstones and Casper.
- Douglas Kreitmayer: Professional bodybuilder and former National Physique Committee competitor.
- Nathanael Kreitmayer: American-born professional ice hockey goaltender.
- Ashley Kreitmayer: American entrepreneur and public speaker.
- Clara Kreitmayer: Emmy Award-winning costume designer.
- Eric Kreitmayer: President of the National Association of Home Builders.