Frequency: (434)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
South German and Swiss German: from Fastnacht ‘Shrovetide carnival’, ‘Shrove Tuesday’ (literally ‘fast eve’); probably, like Fasching, it was a nickname for a lively, exuberant person or someone born between Christmas and Lent, in particular on Shrove Tuesday.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
