Frequency: (1499)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
German: byname for someone in the service of a lord and his family, from a genitive plural form of Middle High German her ‘nobleman’, ‘lord’, as in Herrendorf, habitational name from a place near Küstrin; or the nickname Herrenhans, for someone named John in the service of a nobleman; Herrenknecht, a servant in a noble family; or Herrenschneider, a tailor hired by a nobleman.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
