cripple

Post photo: Gherkins | © Pixabay

Ever since I was little, I was and still am confronted with my family name and therefore, even as a primary school student, I often asked myself why I couldn't just be called Müller or Maier.

I can see that easily now, because over the decades I've spoken to people who have much more complex or even more unusual surnames, and even many Maiers and Müllers weren't quite so happy with their surnames.

Many of my fellow citizens and also so-called name researchers use the name Kümmerle, which meanwhile also exists in other variants, such as e.g. B. Kimmerle, Kümmerlen, Kummerle, Kuemmerle, Kümmerly, Kimmerly and Kimmerli, essentially go back to two origins, firstly “sorrow” and secondly “being stunted”. It would have helped a lot to just look up where the name originally came from. Because then one would have come across the Franconian language area very quickly, although most Kümmerles are still at home in West Franconian today.

A Kümmerle or several Kümmerli are small, curved gherkins that are still often served as a side dish. That's why I attribute the original naming to two possibilities, namely to cucumber farmers who found good soil for the Kümmerli in West Franconia or to people who were just as obsessed with Kümmerli as I am today - my better half could tell a thing or two about it to sing.

The German name Kümmerle is derived from Latin, because that is where the cucumber is called cucumber. What is more interesting, however, is that this surname actually has its own plural, and one could therefore easily speak of one Kümmerle or of two or more Kümmerli.

Nonetheless, I've long made it a habit to introduce myself as follows when asked: "Just like the little grief I'm causing you."

The following websites linked here can give you a first impression of how diverse today's Kümmerles are on the road.

• Achim Kummerle – IT consulting
• Kummerle car dealership
• Bookstore & antiquarian bookshop Kümmerle
• Elektro Kümmerle
• Energy consulting Kümmerle
• Fritz Kummerle – Surgeon & university lecturer
• House Kummerle
• Timber construction Kümmerle
• Office for social law and medical law Kümmerle
• Kristin Kummerle - artist
• Careful electrical engineering
• Kümmerle vehicle construction
• Kummerle Reiners
• Take care of sanitary facilities
• Notary Michael Kümmerle
• Bus Kummerle
• Peter Kummerle
• Kümmerle private winery
• Publisher Kummerle
• Werner Kummerle – table tennis player
• Kummerle Dental Practice

I'm happy to add a line or two to each of the hyperlinks above. Simply email them to me.