Peculiarities of Low German Surnames: An Expedition to the "German Surname Atlas" Spezifika niederdeutscher Familiennamen: Ein Streifzug durch den “Deutschen Familiennamenatlas" (DFA)

Abstract

After completion of the “German Surname Atlas” ( Deutscher Familiennamenatlas ) in 2018, it has now become possible to demonstrate that and how the Low German area constitutes (a) specific onomastic region(s). The present article highlights some striking phenomena of Low German surnames with regard to phonology, morphology, spelling and the lexical level by providing maps which are based on the telephone connections of 2005. It becomes evident that surnames in Northern Germany are the last witnesses of former Low German dialects.