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This week's PubNight email comes to us from Money, whose birthday we are celebrating this week:
The second most common question I get about the family name "Puterbaugh", after "how the hell is that pronounced?", is "what language is that from?" The answer to that question is "German", though not without the intervention of time, spelling reforms, and an overzealous immigrations official or two.
The most plausible origin, and therefore the one I choose to believe, is that the name derives from "Puderbach" ("Powder Brook"), presumably the name of a waterway in Germany's Westerwald, and the namesake of a modern municipality in the state of Rhineland-Pfalz. Or at least, that makes a better story than all the other folk etymologies I've heard, about short stout men distributing war loot and whatnot.
To observe my upcoming Geburtstag, please join me in Fort Greene to enjoy the food and beverages of Cologne, a city that's a scant hour from Puderbach via the A3 Autobahn. We'll try to get outdoor seating (weather and crowds permitting), but if necessary, the spartan, checker-tiled indoor seating areas will do just fine.
˜Money, Erika, and Germans everywhere