Frequency: (185)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
North German: habitational name for an inhabitant of Eastphalia or Westphalia (German Ostfalen, Westfalen), the suffix -ling denoting affiliation and habitation.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
