General Discussion

carpetbagger

(5,509 posts)

68. It's pretty common for German surnames.

Mon Sep 2, 2024, 05:17 PM

Sep 2024

They get shortened and standardized over time, especially with some of the less distinct consonants (like d/t, which are combined in the soundex system). My own German surname lost a ch and a few vowels and gained a consonant before my gt gt grandfather left, probably like Trump's family, to avoid the draft. And really, ditching the imperial German war machine was not the wrong thing.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

3 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

rictofen BlueMTexpat raging moderate

94 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

John Cleese: What part of Germany are the Trumps from and why did they change their name? [View all] Dennis Donovan Sep 2024 OP

Don't get Basil started on the Germans. Xavier Breath Sep 2024 #1

And don't mention the war! peppertree Sep 2024 #17

🤣 IrishAfricanAmerican Sep 2024 #19

Brilliant Ishoutandscream2 Sep 2024 #25

Drumpf family originated from Knochensporn in the German state of Huhnerkacke (u mit umlaut) TheBlackAdder Sep 2024 #73

From the Schweinhund district, I take it. peppertree Sep 2024 #94

..Grossvater Drumpf left das Heimat.. thomski64 Sep 2024 #2

Was Jeffrey Epstine's mommy the madame? rubbersole Sep 2024 #12

They had to change names? What are they hiding? BoRaGard Sep 2024 #3

..they considered Schtupf. thomski64 Sep 2024 #4

It takes 10-15 flushes to get that birth certificate down. rubbersole Sep 2024 #13

They switched from Drumpf to Trump and told everyone they were Swedish IronLionZion Sep 2024 #91

"Really...who were they running from?" Wednesdays Sep 2024 #5

Exactly. And for that a royal decree was issued banning him from the country. ancianita Sep 2024 #10

I remember reading somewhere that it was after one of the world wars to make their name sound less German. Lonestarblue Sep 2024 #28

Totally plausible. ancianita Sep 2024 #29

The British monarchy did that Wednesdays Sep 2024 #31

And the Mountbattens changed their name from Battenberg. Tanuki Sep 2024 #72

Many non-English immigrants changed their names SCantiGOP Sep 2024 #33

This is true, but sometimes it happened unintentionally FakeNoose Sep 2024 #48

The unintentional name change reminds me of the VERY old Ole Oleson- niyad Sep 2024 #75

I would guess it was the First World War. cab67 Sep 2024 #66

I guess the "bone spurs" excuse didn't work back then??? If only Dotard 45 had fled the US to avoid Vietnam instead LaMouffette Sep 2024 #41

My grandfather did the same rustysgurl Sep 2024 #77

The Trumps falsely claimed their family Was Swedish when it was inconvenient to be German. keithbvadu2 Sep 2024 #6

To be fair, during WWII Trump's uncle died in a German POW camp SocialDemocrat61 Sep 2024 #7

We'll never know who pushed him...... lastlib Sep 2024 #9

Pushed by Putin's uncle, perhaps? Sogo Sep 2024 #58

And while we're at it, why did weird JD Vance change his name 4 times? Wiz Imp Sep 2024 #8

Apparently, daddy Bowman was an asshole, so his mother got rid of the Donald Warpy Sep 2024 #15

The Vance name did not come from being adopted. wnylib Sep 2024 #27

The name before Vance was Hamel, from his stepfather. ancianita Sep 2024 #30

And Veronica Hamel played Joyce....Davenport! LilyBelle Sep 2024 #76

Thanks. I couldn't remember his stepfather's surname. wnylib Sep 2024 #78

Not a problem! Why should anyone remember his name, right? I hope by next year we never hear his name again. ancianita Sep 2024 #81

An asshole by BattleRow Sep 2024 #34

He had good reason to change his name once, not 4 times. Wiz Imp Sep 2024 #40

I guess he'd say he was EVOLVING Warpy Sep 2024 #60

Lots of kids get adopted by stepfathers and their name is changed. Nothing to be ashamed of, or awkward about. mucholderthandirt Sep 2024 #84

Changed his name because he didn't want any reminders of his asshole father? Probatim Sep 2024 #90

She was born at Kaiser Oakland wryter2000 Sep 2024 #11

Bavaria. Grandpappy Friedrich was a draft dodger, it's why he left Warpy Sep 2024 #14

Americans seem to have trouble with any name longer than "Smith". ChazInAz Sep 2024 #20

When my aunt was researching our family tree, wnylib Sep 2024 #49

Sometimes it's just bureaucracy JHB Sep 2024 #50

That's why ChazInAz Sep 2024 #87

I know, right? Warpy Sep 2024 #57

So true BigMin28 Sep 2024 #62

Yeah, my grandfather came from Lithuania with the surname "Savage." Wednesdays Sep 2024 #37

Most of them were misrepresented as having "IS" as the finial Warpy Sep 2024 #59

That's what happened in the movie "The Godfather, Part II". 4lbs Sep 2024 #70

My Great Grandfather JustAnotherGen Sep 2024 #71

The grandfather I never met did that one Warpy Sep 2024 #82

Adolph von goring trump....too bad he doesn't have a cyanide tablet PortTack Sep 2024 #16

Or a Walther PPK pistol. nt Wednesdays Sep 2024 #39

Lawrence O'Donnell did an excellent piece on the Drumpfs Evolve Dammit Sep 2024 #18

Going on the offensive is the key to defeating Trump. Frank D. Lincoln Sep 2024 #21

Kallstadt LudwigPastorius Sep 2024 #22

Actually he had already emigrated to the US moose65 Sep 2024 #35

I'm spitballin' here ... FakeNoose Sep 2024 #51

84 LessAspin Sep 2024 #23

Thank you for that. maveric Sep 2024 #61

I feel so young after watching that! Dem2theMax Sep 2024 #80

I'll be 67 in February, I'm always shocked to see how young people I used to think were old back then are. :D mucholderthandirt Sep 2024 #85

It does make sense. Dem2theMax Sep 2024 #89

Establishing a family tradition rockbluff botanist Sep 2024 #24

My family name was changed by the post office travelingthrulife Sep 2024 #26

Can we run the Trumps back to Germany? Irish_Dem Sep 2024 #32

The name change malaise Sep 2024 #42

Change their names back to Humpty Dumpty and send them back to Germany. Irish_Dem Sep 2024 #45

LO! malaise Sep 2024 #47

LOL. - Historian finds German decree banishing Trump's grandfather malaise Sep 2024 #36

So, deprecation of military service runs deep in that family. nt eppur_se_muova Sep 2024 #43

Very deep malaise Sep 2024 #54

This will totally PO the Nazi element of the GQP. GreenWave Sep 2024 #53

LOL malaise Sep 2024 #93

You know that family is rotten when Germany didn't want them IronLionZion Sep 2024 #92

Rhineland Palatinate Nasruddin Sep 2024 #38

Chump has a closer connection to Scotland than to Germany FakeNoose Sep 2024 #56

I'd love to drink a beer with John Cleese Mysterian Sep 2024 #44

Same thing in my husband's family. hoosierspud Sep 2024 #46

Transphobe says what? BootOutTheGoons Sep 2024 #52

My family changed our name by replacing an i with a y CanonRay Sep 2024 #55

Not sure ... maybe Burgerbraukeller? struggle4progress Sep 2024 #63

So maybe The Bopper Sep 2024 #64

Didn't DU have some posts about it back in 2016-2017? Vogon_Glory Sep 2024 #65

But for a name change, he might have been John Cheese. Harker Sep 2024 #67

It's pretty common for German surnames. carpetbagger Sep 2024 #68

TY & John Cleese!! Cha Sep 2024 #69

GrandfatherDrumpfh ws 3auld6phart Sep 2024 #74

I think the family's original German name was Arschloch tclambert Sep 2024 #79

I can answer John Cleese's questions, but he may be disappointed. 😉 ShazzieB Sep 2024 #83

Trudeau trolls Trump with an old photo of his grandfather's whorehouse in Calgary, Alberta. Marcuse Sep 2024 #86

The Trump ancestral home is a small farming town DFW Sep 2024 #88