Pfister is a German surname.

Etymology

"Pfister" comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for "

baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

": pistor, via the High German Consonant Shift that transformed the "p" into "pf". The name is found principally in those parts of ethnic Germany that were part of the Roman empire, while the native German word "Bäcker" is found elsewhere. The etymology is evident in old towns throughout these parts where a "Pfisterngasse" (Baker Street) is commonly found, and still containing bakeries, such as Pfisterngasse in

Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...

People

Notable people with the surname include: *

Albrecht Pfister Albrecht Pfister (c. 1420 – c. 1466) was one of the first European printers to use movable type, following its invention by Johannes Gutenberg. Working in Bamberg, Germany, he is believed to have been responsible for two innovations in the use ...

, one of the first European printers to use movable type *

Albrecht Pfister (mathematician) Albrecht Pfister (born July 30, 1934) is a German mathematician specializing in algebra and in particular quadratic forms. Pfister received his doctoral degree in 1961 at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The title of his doctoral th ...

, a German mathematician *

Charles F. Pfister Charles F. Pfister (June 17, 1859 – November 12, 1927) was a wealthy tannery magnate, bank financier, utility owner, newspaper publisher, hotelier and philanthropist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was also a central figure in the stalwart "Old Guar ...

, a wealthy tannery magnate, bank financier, utility owner, newspaper publisher, hotelier, and philanthropist *

Christian Pfister Christian Pfister, name sometimes given as Chrétien Pfister (13 February 1857 in Beblenheim – 16 May 1933 in Beblenheim) was a French historian. He was the author of numerous writings associated with Alsace and Lorraine. He received his ...

, a French historian * Christian Pfister (Swiss historian) *

Daniel Pfister Daniel Pfister (born 7 December 1986 in Schwaz) is an Austrian luger who has competed since 2003. He won three medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with a silver (Mixed team: 2009 and two bronzes (men's singles: 2009, mixed team: 2 ...

* George Pfister *

Hank Pfister Hank Pfister (born October 9, 1953) is a former tennis player from the United States, who won two singles titles (1981, Maui and 1982, Newport) during his professional career. The right-hander reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP ...

, American

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player *

Hanspeter Pfister Hanspeter Pfister is a Swiss computer scientist. He is the An Wang Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Brain Science at Harvard ...

Manuel Pfister Manuel Pfister (born December 4, 1988) is an Austrian luger who has competed since 1999. His best finish at the FIL World Luge Championships was 17th in the men's singles event at Oberhof in 2008. Pfister's best finish at the FIL European Luge C ...

Marcus Pfister Marcus Pfister (born 30 July 1960 in Bern, Switzerland) is a Swiss author and illustrator of children's picture books. His '' Rainbow Fish'' series of children's picture books, published since 1992, has been a worldwide success. The books have ...

, Swiss author, illustrator * Nadia Pfister (born 1995), Swiss squash player *

Oskar Pfister Oskar Pfister (23 February 1873 – 6 August 1956) was a Swiss Lutheran minister and lay psychoanalyst who was a native of Wiedikon. Pfister studied theology, philosophy and psychology at the University of Zurich and the University of Basel, grad ...

Otto Pfister Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded ...

* Otto Pfister (naturalist) *

Phil Pfister Phil Pfister (born May 15, 1971) is an American former strongman competitor and winner of the 2006 World's Strongest Man competition on September 23, 2006 in Sanya, China. He was the first American to win since Bill Kazmaier in 1982. Pfister sta ...

, strongman *

Wally Pfister Walter C. Pfister (born July 8, 1961) is an American director and former cinematographer, who is best known for his work with filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Some of his collaborations with Nolan include '' Memento'' (2000), ''The Dark Knight Tril ...

, Academy Award winning cinematographer and director

Related names

* The "

Feaster Feaster is a surname that many (but not all) Pfisters from Bavaria and Switzerland took after immigrating to the United States. Notable people with the name feasted include: *Allison Feaster, WNBA player with the Indiana Fever * Jay Feaster, ...

" surname was adopted by some Pfisters that immigrated to the United States. Pister was also used as misspelling of Pfister by German immigrants coming to the United States.

Etymology

People

Related names

See also