Surname Hintermeier - Meaning and Origin

Hintermeier: What does the surname Hintermeier mean?

The last name Hintermeier is of German origin, derived from the words “hinter” and “meier”. The former can be defined as “behind” or “back” and the latter as a Middle High German term meaning “bailiff” or “official”. Therefore, when viewed together, the combined meaning of this name is “bailiff from behind”.

Back in the olden days, this name indicated the occupation of someone who possibly was a treasurer, an officer on a court of justice, or a toll-keeper. Records suggest that the name was initially introduced in Eastern Europe and later spread into Central Europe and Bavaria, where it became very popular.

In modern times, the surname Hintermeier is often searched for in connection to research of the family tree. It is still quite common in Northern and Western Germany, and might even be found in parts of North America, indicating the migration of the surname bearer at a certain point in history.

The name Hintermeier is known to be a reliable connection to German origins, allowing descendants to trace back their family's heritage and explore a direct link to a distant past. With the history of this name being quite rich, tracing someone’s family tree with such a distinguished name is an exciting yet complicated task.

Hintermeier: Where does the name Hintermeier come from?

The last name Hintermeier is most common in Germany, particularly in the Bavaria region. Other parts of Europe, particularly Austria and Switzerland, also have many Hintermeier families. Austria, in particular, shows the surname in a number of regions, including Vorarlberg, Oberösterreich, and Salzburg.

The name is believed to have originated in Middle High German as Hindermeier, with 'hinder' meaning 'behind' and 'meier' meaning 'steward or farmer.' This is an indication that the Hintermeier name was likely a surname given to a person who worked a farm (or steward) located farther in the back of other lands.

Hintermeier is still common today in the countries and regions mentioned above, albeit often with a slight variation in spelling. There are also dozens of variations of the name that are less common, such as Humbertmeier, Hennekemeir, and Haytermeier.

The United States also has several Hintermeiers living within its borders, particularly states with large German populations like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New Jersey. It is estimated that there are approximately 300 Hintermeiers residing in the US, making it the most prominent overseas population outside of Europe.

Variations of the surname Hintermeier

Hintermeier is a German surname with several variants and spellings. Popular variants of Hintermeier include Hintermayer, Hintermeir and Hintermeire. Additionally, the name Hintermeier is also spelled Hintermeyer, Hintermeier, Hintermyer, Hintermaier, Hintermair, Hintermayr, Hintermai and Hintermeir.

The variations of Hintermeier come from the Germanic root “meir” or “maier” which denotes the occupation of mayor and usually corresponds to a person in authority or one who manages a village.

The different spellings of Hintermeier also come from the influence of dialects in different regions as the village name gradually evolves over time. These dialect-specific spellings can be seen in the variants such as Hintermair and Hintermayr.

When the name Hintermeier is anglicized, it can take the form of Hineter, Frati, Hunter, Layman, Newman, Oppenheimer and Wilson.

Hintermeier is a widespread name found throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries. Many people bearing the same surname today are likely to be distantly related. It is likely that the people with the Hintermeier surname have their roots in a single family that settled in a certain village in the past.

Famous people with the name Hintermeier

• Karl-Heinz Hintermeier: a German artist and sculptor, who has created sculptures for many public spaces, as well as multiple interior and exterior installations in Germany, Great Britain, China and the United States.
• Jochen Hintermeier: a German professional football goalkeeper, who has played for teams such as Alemannia Aachen, GFC Oberhausen and RW Essen.
• Margarete Hintermeier: a German athlete who is a 5-time World Champion in the javelin throw. She is currently the coach of javelin athletes at the University of Munich.
• Sven Hintermeier: a German figure skating coach, who is the current coach of Olympic and world champion Aliona Savchenko.
• Tina Hintermeier: a German research physicist who has conducted many studies on the impact of renewable energies and energy efficiency. She is now the head of research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology.
• Wilhelm Hintermeier: a German mathematician and university lecturer, who has published several books and journal articles on the topics of algebra, algebraic geometry, and cryptology.
• Walter Hintermeier: a German businessman and entrepreneur, who is the CEO of the tech startup Openers and the sustainable energy company EnergieTec.
• Reinhard Hintermeier: a retired German soccer player who played for several teams, including the Bayern Munich and Hannover 96.
• Ingmar Hintermeier: a German economist, who is currently a professor at the University of Frankfurt. He has published many works on economic analysis, the euro crisis, and inequality.
• Marcel Hintermeier: a German lawyer and former mayor of Villingen-Schwenningen, a city in the country's southwest.

Other surnames

HintermeirHintermeyerHintermeyr