Krebs
A German surname meaning “crab,” originally a nickname or house sign, sometimes also linked to a place name.
The #3,260 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,898 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Krebs is the German word for “crab,” and as a surname it was often used as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a crab in some way—by gait, temperament, or appearance. In some cases it may also have arisen from a house or inn sign showing a crab, which later became hereditary. Earlier sources also note a possible place-name connection in Upper Saxony, so the surname may have more than one origin in different families.
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and appears in historical surname lists as a common nickname surname. It also traveled widely with German migration, which is why it is found in North America and elsewhere. Related spelling forms and anglicized comparisons in older works show that English writers often glossed it simply as “crab.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries often grouped Krebs with other animal-based nicknames, alongside names like Fuchs, Hase, and Hirsch.
From the historical record
“stout man. KREBS. Local A town in Upper Saxony, Germany. KYLE. Local From a district of the same name in Ayr- shire, Scotland. Gaelic, Coiti, a wood. The river Coyk runs through the district, whence, perhaps, the name. LACKEY. A person sent, an attendant servant. LACY. Local. Derived from a place in France by that…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names