Updated June 9, 2019 Share: Family name origins & meanings German and Danish : assimilated form of Nils, a contraction of Nikolaus (see Nicholas).Americanized spelling of German Nüss ‘nut’ (see Nuss 2).Jewish (from Ukraine and Poland) : ornamental name from Yiddish dialect nis ‘nut’ (cognate with German Nüss; see 1).