Re: German "Stein"

[Harlan Messinger <hmessinger.removethis@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim wrote:
> The German word for stone ,,Stein" is used in German very widely in
> combinations particularly with proper names like surnames, names of
> streets....
> 1. The combination of some words like Bernstein is clear to me but I
> can't understand a name like Einstein "one stone".
> 2. Germany is not that mountainous so why this overuse of "Stein"(
> maybe particularly in the north?) Any historic explanation?

1. "Stein" means "stone", not "mountain", so what do mountains have to 
do with it?

2. Much of the region where *German is spoken* is mountainous.