Duetschens

Recorded as Duetsche, the diminutive Duetschen, the patronymic Duetschens, and possibly others, this is a German surname. It seems to have three possible origins. The first and most probable is that it is medieval, and occupational for a singer or perhaps more logically a pair of singers, who sang duets. The second is that it is a nickname from the word 'dusche' which literally means a shower (of rain), but probably in medieval times had a more robust nickname meaning perhaps for somebody who was very tough and just ignored the weather. The third is that it is a transposed spelling of Deutsche, which literally means a German, in the same way that the surnames English and Irish are to be found in their respective countries. The usual explanation is that these were surnames given to people in other countries, who then returned to their original home land. This surname is well recorded although not in the main directories of German names. Early examples include Adolf Duetsche who married Gertrudis Vogel at Sankt Nikolaus Diestedde, Westfalen, on April 22nd 1691, and Anna Duetschens who was christened at the same place on July 9th 1723.