Frequency: (654)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. German: metonymic occupational name for a seller of flints, or topographic name for someone who lived near an outcrop of flint, from Middle High German viur ‘fire’ + stein ‘stone’.
2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name composed of German Feuer ‘fire’ + Stein ‘stone’, or an ornamental name from the German Feuerstein ‘flint’.
GIVEN NAMES: Jewish 4%. Hyman (3), Giora, Miriam, Shira, Zvi.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
