The surnames of the German Jews are a special case, as they were introduced later, in the late 18th to early 19th century, per fiat.[8] The Prussian authorities imposed made-up and sometimes derogatory names. For instance, the name “Waldlieferant” (lit.: forest supplier) was “created” to ridicule a Jewish timber trader. Even way more offensive espressions (”Afterduft”; lit.: anus odor) were in use. This is by no means the rule, though; on the contrary, those surnames most quickly recognized as probably Jewish in origin are distinctly poetical ones, probably as they were made-up choices by the people themselves (e.g. Rosenzweig). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_namee
If you paid the clerk a bribe, you got a nice name like Rosenthal, “valley of roses.” If not, you got Grossman or Lender or Afterduft.