Help with origin of this surname?

[Augustus27]

Just found out that one of my 4th great grandmothers had the surname Kosmieder. Not sure if it's German or maybe even Slavic? I'm pretty sure she was from West Prussia, so modern day Germany and Poland, but the origin of it is alluding me. Any ideas?

[Veneda]

Just found out that one of my 4th great grandmothers had the surname Kosmieder. Not sure if it's German or maybe even Slavic? I'm pretty sure she was from West Prussia, so modern day Germany and Poland, but the origin of it is alluding me. Any ideas?

In Poland we have the surname Kośmider, which is Polish version of German surname Koschmieder. It means, according to my knowledge, distracted or absent-minded man.

Kośmider surname in Poland (http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/ko%25C5%259Bmider.html)

[Vullkan]

its german

[Vullkan]

its german at least 500 years old

[Augustus27]

So it seems to be fairly prevalent in Poland and his German in origin? I thought it might be German and we all know that not all Polish surnames end in ski ;)

[de Burgh II]

A Quick search of people with the last name "Kosmeider" was Prussian in origin:

http://www.ancientfaces.com/person/auguste-kosmeider/160536778

http://www.germanimmigrants1880s.com/index.php?f=ln&q=Kosmieder

[Augustus27]

A Quick search of people with the last name "Kosmeider" was Prussian in origin:

http://www.ancientfaces.com/person/auguste-kosmeider/160536778

http://www.germanimmigrants1880s.com/index.php?f=ln&q=Kosmieder

Very interesting. I'm almost positive that my Kosmeider ancestor didn't immigrate and stayed in West Prussia/Poland, but her daughter immigrated. Either way I guess trying to classify Prussian can be pretty ambiguous with all of the different ethnic groups living there during that time period.

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

I have ancestors from modern-day Poland (Germans) with last names like Daberkow and Hoppnow. Last names ending in -ow are suppose to be Slavic in origin. I also have the last name Zirwen in my line, or Zerwin. It appears to be rare, perhaps a corruption of some Slavic name or Jewish (someone in my family told me it might be Jewish).

[Augustus27]

I have ancestors from modern-day Poland (Germans) with last names like Daberkow and Hoppnow. Last names ending in -ow are suppose to be Slavic in origin. I also have the last name Zirwen in my line, or Zerwin. It appears to be rare, perhaps a corruption of some Slavic name or Jewish (someone in my family told me it might be Jewish).

There was much more mixing between the Germans and the Poles than most people tend to believe. Many people in eastern Germany have Slavic roots and many Poles in western Poland have German/ic roots. Many surnames have been adopted and changed, so it isn't surprising to see many German surnames in Poland, as we both have ancestors like that.

[de Burgh II]

Very interesting. I'm almost positive that my Kosmeider ancestor didn't immigrate and stayed in West Prussia/Poland, but her daughter immigrated. Either way I guess trying to classify Prussian can be pretty ambiguous with all of the different ethnic groups living there during that time period.

I took the liberty to try to see the population distribution of "Kosmieder" in Germany which lead me to find this:
http://www.verwandt.de/karten/absolut/kosmieder.html

You can try to use this for other German Surnames for population distributions; there were some results for "Kosmieder":
http://christoph.stoepel.net/geogen/en/Default.aspx

Both of the searches mostly pop up in Western Germany; the last name in particular shows up in the "Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis" district.

[Dr. Robotnik the Subbotnik]

It's probably German. From what I know it's only Slavic if it ends with -itz or -ow. I don't think last names that end in -er have Slavic origin.