YOU WILL NEVER GO WRONG AGAIN PRONOUNCING GERMAN LAST NAMES. Here are the top German surnames. German surnames often reflect a rich tapestry of history and culture. They commonly fall into categories such as occupational names, like Müller (miller) and Schmidt (blacksmith), and geographical names, such as Berg (mountain) or Neumann (new man). Many surnames also describe physical traits, like Klein (small) or Schwarz (black), while some are derived from a parent’s name, as seen in Petersen (son o