Schlecht
[1] (from
Old High German
sleht "even", "direct" or "natural" (cognate with
Old English
sliht)) is a
German surname belonging to the group of family names based on a personal characteristic, in this case derived from a nickname originally used for a straightforward person.
[2]
[3] Like the variant
Schlicht it arose before the
semantic change of s(ch)le(c)ht/s(ch)li(c)ht from the rather positive "straight", "plain", "simple", "well" to present-day "bad", "evil", "wicked" in the 15th century and may also be habitational in origin, stemming from several small settlements with that name (from sleht in the sense "flat").
Notable people with the name include:
Approximately 8,918 people bear this surname. Most prevalent in: Germany; Highest density in: French Polynesia.
nickname for a straightforward person, from Middle High German, Old High German sleht 'direct', 'natural' (though it later came to mean 'defective', 'bad'). habitational name from any of various minor places so named, for example in Mecklenburg and the Upper Palatinate, from Old High German sleht in the sense 'flat'.
Schlecht
[1] (from
Old High German
sleht "even", "direct" or "natural" (cognate with
Old English
sliht)) is a
German surname belonging to the group of family names based on a personal characteristic, in this case derived from a nickname originally used for a straightforward person.
[2]
[3] Like the variant
Schlicht it arose before the
semantic change of s(ch)le(c)ht/s(ch)li(c)ht from the rather positive "straight", "plain", "simple", "well" to present-day "bad", "evil", "wicked" in the 15th century and may also be habitational in origin, stemming from several small settlements with that name (from sleht in the sense "flat").
Notable people with the name include:
Approximately 8,918 people bear this surname. Most prevalent in: Germany; Highest density in: French Polynesia.
nickname for a straightforward person, from Middle High German, Old High German sleht 'direct', 'natural' (though it later came to mean 'defective', 'bad'). habitational name from any of various minor places so named, for example in Mecklenburg and the Upper Palatinate, from Old High German sleht in the sense 'flat'.