Einstein Family History

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places named with a Middle High German derivative of einsteinen ‘to enclose or surround with stone’. In the unsettled social climate of the Middle Ages even relatively minor settlements were commonly surrounded with stone walls as a defense against attack. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name composed of German ein ‘one’ + Stein ‘stone’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press