Surname Maiershofer - Meaning and Origin
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Maiershofer: What does the surname Maiershofer mean?
Maiershofer is a German surname derived from the personal name Maier, which translates to ‘mayor’ and ‘shofer’, meaning ‘sailor’. This surname was likely created to identify a person who was the mayor of a seaside town. The name also likely referred to a person who led a Navy or merchant fleet, as the term ‘sailor’ has been used since the Middle Ages to describe a mariner. The surname is most common in the German-speaking countries of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
In some case, the surname can be a variant of the rarer ‘Mayrhofer’, derived from the name Mayr meaning ‘supervisor’ and ‘hofer’ meaning ‘keeper’. A third possible origin of the surname is from ‘Meier’, meaning ‘one who farms’ combined with ‘hofer’.
Today, Maiershofer is still most common in German-speaking regions, and is also common in the United States, where immigrants from those regions often settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The surname is most commonly found among white people, with the highest concentrations in the United States, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, although there are people with the surname in smaller populations all over the world.
Order DNA origin analysisMaiershofer: Where does the name Maiershofer come from?
The last name Maiershofer is an old German patronymic surname that is typically found in countries with a Germanic heritage. In Germany it is mostly found in the northern German regions, specifically in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Within Germany, the name is quite common and is the 135th most popular last name in the country.
Outside of Germany, the name is still concentrated in countries with German-speaking populations such as Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands but can also be found further away in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is particularly common amongst German or Austrian immigrants in the United States and their descendants.
In the United States, the name is particularly common in states such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and California. These states often had high numbers of German or Austrian immigrants in history and many of them kept the name as a part of their new identity.
Overall, the name Maiershofer is a relatively common surname and is most commonly found in countries or states with German-speaking populations. However, due to its age and historical ties, the name can be found in various places around the world.
Variations of the surname Maiershofer
Maiershofer is a surname of German origin, which is derived from the combination of the two words "Maien" (May) and "Schöfer" (shepherd). Over the centuries, this name has evolved in many spelling variations, also changing depending on the particular region of each family's origin. Some of the most common spelling variations of the name Maiershofer are Maereshofer, Maierhofer, Meiershofer, Mairshoffer, Maershofer, Maeserhofer, Maershoffer, Mairschofer, Mayershofer, Meishofer, Maeserhoffer, Maasehofer and Mayershoffer.
The Maiershofer surname can sometimes be found translated into English with phonetic spellings that are close to the original German version. These forms of the name include Mayershofer, Mairschofer, Maeserhoffer and Maersehofer. Other variations of this name include Meierhof, Mayerhof, Mayrshofer, Maerhofer, Maesaerer, Maeserer and Maesaerer.
The name is still very common throughout Germany and can also be found throughout other parts of Europe, such as Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. In recent years, many on the name Maierhofer have moved to North America, primarily the United States and Canada. Over time some of these trans-Atlantic families have adopted various versions of the original surname for use in North American records. An example of this would be the altered form of “Mallershofer”.
Throughout its long and varied history, the Maiershofer name has undergone a number of changes in spelling in order to adapt to the different regions it settled in. However, it continues to be a common surname of German origin to this day.
Famous people with the name Maiershofer
- Georg Maiershofer (1878–1930), Austrian zoologist
- Alois Maiershofer (1886–1972), Austrian architect
- Ignaz Maiershofer (1927–2013), Austrian classical pianist
- Karl Maiershofer (1925–2010), Austrian sprint canoer
- Josef Maiershofer (1891–1962), Austrian sculptor
- Alex Maiershofer (born 2002), German actor
- Ted Maiershofer (1915–1997), American Major League Baseball player
- Susan Maiershofer (born 1982), German artistic gymnast
- Matthias Maiershofer (born 1965), German handball goal keeper
- Sebastian Maiershofer (born 1983), Austrian ski mountaineer