Number of German Brazilians and Ethnicity
In the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Germans were 22,34% and 19,3% respectively of the population in the 1940s and 6,9% for Paraná. Only in the state of Rio Grande do Sul there are approximately between 2.5 million (or even a third of it´s population ) German descent living there.
The percentages are higher in some cities. For example, in the town of Pomerode, Santa Catarina, 90% of the population are Brazilians of German descent, and the main local language is a Pomeranian dialect. It is considered the most "German" city in Brazil. Many towns in Southern Brazil have a majority of German-descended people.
Sometimes, Germans surnames were adapted or changed in Brazil to a more "understandable" writing in Portuguese since many were incomprehensible to Brazilians.
| Germans surnames adapted in Brazil | |
|---|---|
| German | Adapted |
| Birnbaum | Pereira |
| Diemer | Dimer or Timer |
| Emmerich | Emerin |
| Frazen | França |
| Greis | Krais |
| Hahn | Hánn |
| Herzenritter | Heizeriter or Aizenrita |
| Jungles | Junckes or Junkes |
| Justin | Justo or Justino |
| Kehrig | Koerich |
| Kuhn | Cunha |
| Lefhaar | Leffa,Lefa or Leva |
| Löwe | Leão |
| Meng | Mengue |
| Meyer | Maia |
| Ostien | Hóstia |
| Paulus | Paulos or Paulo |
| Schaeffer | Schefer |
| Schlitzer | Silistre |
| Weber | Webber or Veber |
| Weingärtner | Vaingärtner |
| Wilvert | Vicente |
| Zimmermann | Simão |
Read more about this topic: German Brazilian
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