Rademacher
A German occupational surname meaning “wheel-maker,” from a craft name built on the word for wheel.
The #8,263 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,975 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rademacher is a German occupational surname. It combines Middle High German and later German forms of "Rad" meaning "wheel" with "macher," meaning "maker." The literal sense is "wheel-maker," that is, a maker of wheels or wheelwrights, and in some historical contexts it could overlap with related cart- or wagon-making work.
History
The name is found in German-speaking areas and also appears in Dutch and Low German forms such as Rademaker. Historical surname dictionaries treat it as one of the straightforward craft names that became hereditary surnames. It spread with German migration, which is why it appears today outside the German-speaking world, including in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
It belongs to the large family of surnames built from the old pattern “X-maker,” which often preserves a medieval trade more clearly than the modern occupational title does.
From the historical record
“macher. Käsemacher. Lademacher. Lakemacher. Lerschmacher, Pflug- macher. Rademacher. Sattelmacher. Scharmacher (Pflugschar-). Sehirm- Digitized by”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen