# Menaing and origin of surname "Zamloch" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2014, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347 "2014-12-28T11:02:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347/1 "2014-12-28T11:02:51Z")
Just curious as to the meaning and origin of the surname “Zamloch.” ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347/2 "2014-12-28T15:59:02Z")
This is pure conjecture since a quick Internet search turned up literally zilch, but **loch** means lake in Scotland and \*\*zam \*\* means earth in both middle Persian and Avestan, so perhaps Scottish or Middle Eastern in origin. ,[Zam - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zam) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347/3 "2014-12-28T18:25:27Z")
Using ancestry, there was a Carl Zamloch born 1891 in California. His father, [Anton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Zamloch) was born in Vienna and came to the US as a famous magician. [Carl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Zamloch) was a major league pitcher for one year and coached the U. of Calif. baseball team from 1916-1929. ---
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347/4 "2015-06-05T00:20:56Z")
If he was born in Austria and he came to the USA, then “Zamloch” might be an Americanized version of an Austrian surname. Is anyone aware of any Austrian surnames that resemble “Zamloch?” ---
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347/5 "2015-07-15T19:02:24Z")
Okey dokey, I think I’ve cracked the mystery. Zamloch is an Americanized version of the Czech surname Zemlicka. How did I come to this conclusion? Carl Zamloch is the son of Anton Zamloch. Anton Zamloch is list as from Austria. A google search of ‘“Anton Zamloch” born’ on Google returns a result for “Anton Zemilewski.” At first, I thought Zemilewski might have been his real surname, so I clicked the [link.](http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=34&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_f-34&gl=bmd_death&rank=1&new=1&so=1&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_f-2_s&gsfn=Anton&gsln=Zemilewski&msypn__ftp=CA&o_xid=54764&o_lid=54764&o_sch=Partners) On that same page, I found a link for an “Arthur Zamlocke” in the 1920 United States Federal Census, with the name “Anton Zemlicka” listed below that. “Anton” matched the name perfectly and “Zamlocke” was close enough. Plus, the birthday was about right, so I was intrigued. I searched for “Carl Zamlocke” on the off-chance he was listed under that surname, too. And lo and behold, [he was](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH33-2P7). His 1920 Census entry lists him as “Carl Zamlocke,” with a father named Anton, a mother named Elizabeth and a sister named Nettie. But how could I be certain this was the right family – the Zamlochs (and therefore the Zemlickas) – and not just another family whose surname really was Zamlocke originally, whose dad and son shared the same name as the Anton and Carl I was looking for? [Well, this proved it for me](http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/60251327/). Listed is a death notice for Anton Zamloch, aka Zamloch the Great, who is survived by “Carl Zamloch, manager of the Oakland ball club” and “daughter Nettie Zamloch”. Plus, [this link](http://www.magictricks.com/anton-zamloch.html) biography lists his wife as being named Elizabeth, so that is further proof that I have the right family. So, I conclude Zamloch == Zemlicka. Further, I theorize Anton Zamloch ([sometimes spelled “Zamlock”](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=%22Zamlock+the+great%22)) was the magician’s stage name, while Anton/Arthur Zamlocke was his Americanized public name. [Zemlicka, by the way, “is a metonymic occupational name for a baker, from žemlicka, diminutive of žemle ‘bread roll’”.](http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=zemlicka) ---
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/menaing-and-origin-of-surname-zamloch/708347/6 "2015-07-15T19:09:01Z")
An addition: Perhaps Zamloch is a Germanized version of Zemlicka, and Zamlocke is the Americanized version of Zamloch.