Hecht
A German surname usually meaning “pike,” the fish, and often arising as a nickname.
The #4,744 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,354 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hecht is the German word for a pike, a long, sharp-toothed freshwater fish. As a surname, it most likely began as a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way, or less commonly from a house sign or emblem showing a pike. Older surname collections also note it as a German family name without pushing a single fixed explanation, which fits a nickname-based origin.
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and appears in historical surname lists as an example of a fish-based nickname. It also occurs in German-American records, reflecting 19th-century immigration from German lands. Related forms and mentions in older onomastic works suggest the surname was already established by the late medieval period.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers specifically group Hecht with other animal nicknames such as Hase, Hirsch, and Hering.
From the historical record
“FN. Fischer, Vischer. Gen. Fischers (niederrhein.). Zss.: Deichfischer; Teichfischer. Hecht- fischer. — Fischermanns (Gladbach). Friesisch: Fisser, Visser (vgl. holländ. Visser) — auf Norderney sehr häufig. Flsehhaber III. „einer aus Fischau" — (alt”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen