Felber Family History

German and Swiss German: topographic name for someone who lived by a conspicuous willow tree or a group of such trees from Middle High German velwe ‘willow’ (presumably from an unrecorded Old High German cognate of Old English welig). As a vocabulary word this has now been entirely supplanted by Weide.

Both words ultimately derive from a root meaning ‘bent twisted’ and refer to the useful suppleness of willow twigs. Some examples of the surname may derive as a habitational name from any of the places called Felben from the dative plural of the word (originally used after a preposition).

Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from the German name for a willow (see 1 above).