Deutsch
A German surname and nickname meaning “German” or “from the German-speaking area.”
The #3,782 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,982 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Deutsch is the German word for “German,” ultimately from Old High German tiutisc, meaning “of the people” or “popular.” As a surname, it was typically used as an ethnic label for someone identified as German, or for a German-speaking newcomer living among non-Germans. In some cases it may also have been attached to someone from a place or community known as “the German” in a local context.
History
The surname appears in German-speaking areas and also among Jewish families who adopted or were assigned German-language surnames. It is also found in neighboring regions where German speakers settled or where the name was used to mark ethnic origin. In English-language sources it is often discussed alongside equivalents such as Tyas, an older French form meaning “the German.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The modern German word Deutsch is closely related to the old Germanic root behind terms for “the people,” not to the English word “Dutch,” though the words are historically connected in older usage.
From the historical record
“illustrious and heroic race. Grimm sup- poses them to have been an Eastlying people of the Danes and Swedes. (Deutsch Myth.)" Ferguson. The late Lord Har- dinge claimed to be descended from a Danish family settled near Derby. I'he Domesday forms are Harding, Hardingus, Hardinc and Filius Harding. The soft”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom