Guggenheimer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of German-Jewish origin, a variant form related to the well-known surname Guggenheim and borne by people of that family line
2. A surname of German origin, closely related to the name Guggenheim, used as the family name of certain individuals
3. Belonging to a German-derived family name, a variant of Guggenheim that serves as the surname of particular people

Etymology: The name comes from the Guggenheim family, whose members built a fortune in American mining and smelting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Meyer Guggenheim, a Swiss-born Jewish immigrant, and his sons became among the most prominent industrialists in the United States, and their surname became a byword for enormous wealth. An added ending turned the family name into a common noun for a rich person. The term is an antisemitic slur. It was used to label wealthy Jewish people, so the word links the Guggenheims' real success to a stereotype about Jews and money. Its use reflects the prejudice aimed at Jewish business figures of that era rather than anything about the family's actual history.