Surname Sternecker - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'S'
Sternecker: What does the surname Sternecker mean?
The last name Sternecker is of German origin and is thought to have evolved from the Middle High German word “Strenckere”, which is derived from the German root words “stern” meaning star, and “eckere” meaning corner. This combined form “stern eckere” became the surname Sternecker.
The name Sternecker is thought to have originated as a habitational name. This was a type of surname given to people who lived near a specific feature or structure. In this case, the feature was a corner shaped like a star that served as a landmark for a particular geographic area. Over time, the locals began to adopt this particular landmark as their surname - thus Sternecker was born.
Surnames such as Sternecker are quite common in German speaking countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The name is also found in some parts of the United Kingdom and the United States.
Today, people bearing the last name Sternecker are most likely descendants from the same German family lineage, which may in part explain the prevalence of the surname amongst these regions. It is also quite likely that, over generations, the spelling of the surname may have slight variations, such as Sternacker or Sternicker depending on the regional dialect.
Order DNA origin analysisSternecker: Where does the name Sternecker come from?
The last name Sternecker is a German surname that is most common in the south-western corner of Germany. It is also seen in areas in eastern France, western Slovakia, and parts of Austria near the German border.
The majority of people with this surname live in the city of Freiburg, in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, one of Germany’s sixteen states. It is said to have originated in the Swabian region of Germany. Swabian is a dialect from the region stretching from Bavaria to the Swiss Alps. Many people with the name Sternecker also live in the town of Tuttlingen in southern Germany.
The name Sternecker has spread to other parts of the world. In Britain, many people with this surname settled in the mid-1800s. These people mostly worked in professional trades. Theprefix 'Stern' translates to star, and the suffix 'ecker' to cutter or one who cuts. Therefore, the name could have referred to someone who worked as a cutter of stars or had some connection to star-based designs.
The name is not especially common anywhere in Europe or the wider world. In general, it is mainly found in German-speaking countries and those places closely associated with it.
Variations of the surname Sternecker
The surname Sternecker has several minor variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin. It is a German-language surname which originated in Bavaria, and is derived from a number of words related to stars and astronomy, with the root Sterne- meaning "star". Variants of the name Sternecker include Stern, Sterner, Sternbeck, Sturnick and Sterneck.
In some cases, the surname Sternecker took on additional endings or suffixes to make them easier to pronounce. These include -er, -mann, -bacher, -auf and -holz. For example, Sterner might be a variant of the original Sternecker as a result of adding the German suffix -er, while Sternholz is derived from adding the suffix -holz, meaning "wood", and Sternauf from adding -auf, meaning "on".
Some ethnic variants of the name include Stierneck, Sturnickel and Sturnikli. These have different roots, being derived from the Saxon personal name Stürn (related to storms) and the meaning of the termination -nick getting close to the similar sounding German termination -nik (meaning -son).
In the US, the surname may have been anglicized to Stonecker or Sterner. The variations in spelling also reflect the variation that existed due to regional traditions in pronouncing and further variations in accent. Variations may have also been a result of the transcriptional errors while recording the name in various documents.
Famous people with the name Sternecker
- Ludwig Sternecker: German businessman and former president of the Munich Chamber of Commerce.
- Thomas Sternecker: German painter, draughtsman and graphic artist.
- Gisela Sternecker: German opera singer.
- Aliena Sternecker: German harpsichordist and organist.
- Joseph Sternecker: Bavarian revolutionary and soldier in the Wars of Liberation.
- Christian Sternecker: German editor, journalist and TV presenter.
- Edith Sternecker: German painter and graphic artist.
- Ulrich Sternecker: German composer and professor at the Munich University of Music and Theater.
- Monika Sternecker: German philosopher, translator and lecturer.
- Lisa Sternecker: German neurobiologist at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
- Frieda Sternecker-Neubauer: German art historian and museum director.