Updated June 9, 2019 Share: Family name origins & meanings North German : topographic name from Middle Low German masch ‘marsh’, ‘fen’, a variant of marsch. Compare English Marsh.German (Alemannic; Mäsch) : nickname from Middle High German mast ‘fat’, ‘stout’. Compare Mast 3.Jewish (Ashkenazic) : variant of Mash.