KROGER
Origin is German. It derives from the Middle High German word kröger, meaning shop-keeper, trader or inn-keeper. The term itself is a derivative of krögen, meaning pitcher or jug, indicating an occupation connected to taverns. The surname first appeared as an occupational marker and became hereditary where a son or grand-sons continued the trade. It is documented in medieval rolls such as Lotze Crugir of Kassel in 1351 and Henecke Krogher of Hannover in 1420.
As with many German surnames, Kroger has regional spellings. Common variants include Kruger, Krueger, Kröger, Kröger, Krug, Kroge, Krogmann, Krochmann and Krugmann. The suffix -mann in some forms simply denotes man and may highlight the occupation of a shop-keeper man or trader man. When the vowel ö is not present in a local alphabet, the spelling simplifies to Kruger or Krueger, a pattern seen in English-speaking countries.
In Germany the surname remains fairly common and is especially prevalent in areas with historical Germanic settlement. Immigrants bearing the name settled in the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, and the name persisted in the new societies, sometimes modified. Prominent bearers of the name include Paulus Kruger (1825 – 1904), who served as president of the free Boer Republic of the Transvaal between 1881 and 1902, and Bernard Henry Kroger (1883 – 1965), the founder of the retail chain now known as Kroger. The latter's enterprise has contributed to the name’s recognition in the United States.
Today the surname Kroger recognises an ancestral association with the sale of goods or the running of taverns. It is used in the same manner as most occupational surnames and its meaning is preserved in the modern words shop-keeper or trader. The presence of the name in the public domain, particularly through commercial enterprises, has reinforced its recognition outside of its original German context.
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Kroger in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 28 people named Kroger in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Fewer than one in a million people in Britain are named Kroger.
