Pfister is a German surname.

Etymology

"Pfister" comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

word for "

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, 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 Si ...

": 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 town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...

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 the ...

, a German mathematician * Charles F. Pfister, 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 e ...

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

George Pfister George Edward Pfister (September 4, 1918 – August 14, 1997) was an American catcher, coach and executive in Major League Baseball. Pfister threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed during his playing career (1939–1941; 1946– ...

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 T ...

, 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 cov ...

player * Hanspeter Pfister * Manuel Pfister * Marcus Pfister, Swiss author, illustrator * Nadia Pfister (born 1995), Swiss squash player * Oskar Pfister *

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, strongman * Wally Pfister, Academy Award winning cinematographer and director

Related names

* The " 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