Note that most Jews named ENGLAENDER or HOLLAENDER didn't come >from
England or Holland either; or BERLINERs >from Berlin, even. Surnames were
often taken with less gravity than, say, Hebrew names. Someone who
frequently (perhaps once every few years) had business in Danzig might
have been nicknamed "der Danziger" to distinguish him >from the two other
Jakov ben Josefs in town. The name might have stuck, and in 1812 (or
whenever) would have been a reasonable choice when fixed surname
adoption was mandated.

For what it's worth, there were several DANZIGER families among Upper
Silesian Jews, including one connected to my own family. That family's
origin was in Koenigsberg. Go figure.

[Especially disappointing: SCHWEITZER can merely mean "dairyman," i.e.,
does not necessarily have any regional connotations whatever.]

Roger Lustig
Princeton, NJ
julierog@...

Micheline GUTMANN wrote: