Schlesinger
A German surname usually meaning “someone from Silesia” or, in older spelling traditions, a form linked to a place-name in central Germany.
The #8,398 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,362 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schlesinger is most commonly explained as a habitational or regional surname built from the German place-name Schlesien, meaning Silesia, with the agentive suffix -er meaning “a person from.” In Jewish usage, it was also adopted as a surname for families from or associated with Silesia. Some older scholarship connected it with a German place-name in Thuringia, but that is not the standard modern explanation.
History
The name is well established in German-speaking areas and among Ashkenazi Jewish families, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries when fixed surnames became common. It became widespread beyond Central Europe through migration to North America and elsewhere. The surname is borne by several notable modern figures, which has helped keep it familiar in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Silesia’s historical borders shifted repeatedly, so the surname can point to a region whose political identity changed many times over the centuries.
From the historical record
“Ger. Schiller, ' colour-play,' ' iridescence.' SCHLESINGER (Ger.) Bel. to Schleus- INGEN (Thuringia) \^itigen, dat. pi. of the 'son' suff. -ing\ SCHLOSS (Ger.) Castle [M.H.Ger. sloz (z as ss), castle, lock, bar ; f. M.H.Ger. sliezen, O.H.Ger. sliozan (mod. Ger.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)