Kitelinger Family History

The Americanized form of the German surname Geitlinger most probably refers to a habitational name for someone from a lost or unidentified place called Geitlingen.

Alternatively, it may be a nickname based on the Middle Low German term geidlink, which means ‘thrush’, thereby denoting a fowler or a bird catcher.

Another possibility is that it is a patronymic derivative of the personal names Geith or Geidel, which are rooted in the Langobardic word gaida, meaning ‘point’ (of a lance or spear).