# Translate my family name (German) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460 "2008-02-13T18:27:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/1 "2008-02-13T18:27:13Z")
I consider myself to be quite proficient in German, but I’m no native speaker and can’t for the life of me figure out what my name (dad’s side) is supposed to mean. Anyway, it’s Zellhuber (possibly originally Zellhüber with the ümlaut dropped for Americanization). Zell means “cell”, as in a plant cell or animal cell, which makes me think my name might not be originally German. After all, family names most often come from a time when you got named after your trade, which was well before biology really took off. Still, dad has always insisted we have a lot of German blood in us and we certainly look the part. Hüber is a bit tricky. That’s not a word in German, although hüben, “over here” (sort of like “down yonder”, but opposite) is. Heben, however, is a verb (to lift, or hoist), and lends itself to a profession, taking the -er ending common in many german last names. I suppose that could be sort of a day laborer position. So I’ve got biology, an activity, and an adverb. _One of these things is not like the other one…_ Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/2 "2008-02-13T18:33:35Z")
My thought is that since German “Zelle” (meaning “cell”) is not originally German, that “Zell” comes from something else, perhaps “Zelt” (meaning “tent”). But I don’t know all that much German. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/3 "2008-02-13T18:34:52Z")
Oh wow, an hour of googling, and within two minutes of posting this I find a lead. > [@http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/zell-family-crest.htm](#): > > Many German surnames may be recognized as belonging to a particular region by their suffixes. It was also common in Germany to add phrases to a name to express something about a person’s place of origin, religious background, or character. Furthermore, since very few people were literate in the Middle Ages, names were often recorded in official documents by scribes who transcribed them according to how they sounded, rather than according to uniform spelling rules. The many spelling variations of the name Zell include Zeller, Zellers, Zell, Zelle, Zella, Zellmer, Zelleman, Zellaman, Zellemann, Zellner, Zelmer, Zelman, Zelkmann, Zellman, Zelner, Zellerman and many more. > > First found in Bavaria, where the name could be considered to make a great early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. So that could explain a lot. Bavaria has a sort of reputation as being the “Texas” of Germany, and I’m imagining Das Yokel trying to figure out which Zell family he was talking about. “Dat Zell ober 'dere?” “Nawww, dems the Zells what eats them the fat piggies” “Ohh shoot, you mean dem Zells down _yonder._” “Nawww, dems the Zells what dont like the Zimmers” “Then which’n is it, paw?” “The Zells over here (hüben)! Scheiße, boy I’s beginnin’ to think you wasnt born with a lick o sense” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/4 "2008-02-13T18:37:40Z")
A quick google shows Huber means a farmer holding a fief. I knew several kids of Swiss heritage named Huber, some whose parents ran Huber Brewery. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/5 "2008-02-13T18:47:54Z")
A “Hube” is the amount of land that was considered sufficient for a whole family i.e. the reference area for a “full” farm. A “Huber” was a farmer who tilled that amount of land and there were other classes of farmer based on fractions or small multiples. The exact value differed from region to region based on quality and topography of the land but it was in the range between 5 and 30 ha (12-74 acres.) ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/6 "2008-02-13T19:33:56Z")
And “Zell” is a middling frequent village name ([35 places in Germany named Zell](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zell)), so it probably means “the guy who came from Zell and now owns a full farm here”. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-my-family-name-german/437460/7 "2008-02-13T20:20:26Z")
[QUOTE=ForumBot] “Dat Zell ober 'dere?” “Nawww, dems the Zells what eats them the fat piggies” “Ohh shoot, you mean dem Zells down _yonder._” “Nawww, dems the Zells what dont like the Zimmers” “Then which’n is it, paw?” “The Zells over here (hüben)! Scheiße, boy I’s beginnin’ to think you wasnt born with a lick o sense” [/QUOTE] So you’re descended from German _Cajuns_? (I asked a Cajun neighbor of mine if he was from around here. His response was, “No, I’m from da udder side o’ da bayou.”)