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I certainly think "surname" when I see Feist, because I am familiar with the work of the American novelist Raymond Feist:

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http://www.raymondfeistbooks.com/

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However, I personally would be reluctant to use it as a name unless I was related to a Feist family, because unlike some others, I do not see the connotations of the word "feisty" as being positive. :)

If it's not his first name, and it's a family surname, I don't see the slightest problem with it.

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If it were a first name I'd have a laundry list for you -- but let's just say it's unattractive enough as a sound that I would not want it as my personal name, and I'd be less than comfy addressing someone as Feist.

First, I don't even THINK surname when I see it

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I think of Feisty, or a word. It's just not a name to me at all. It has no redeeming qualities to me. Just: Yuck.

This is a German surname. It means "fat" or "thick", like a chubby kid would be. This surname was actually in my husband's family and they took the opportunity to change it when they immigrated to the US!

It seems more like a word name than a surname-name to me, because it reminds me of "feisty". I don't care for the sound or the connotations.

feist...

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Is an old, but still used, term for a mongrel/mutt dog, in the south.

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Aside from that I think it's just plain ugly. Calls to mind fists and farts and foisting.

I like it. It reminds me of the word "feisty". It sounds like a strong name to me.

Re:

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It reminds me of a lot of things that I don't think of as names, like:

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-heist
-fist
-feisty
-fest
-geist (in German, but reminiscent of zeitgeist, which is a concept whose name is also used in English)

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Haha, feist's etymology isn't exactly flattering, either: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/feist. I guess it's your business if you want to use a reference to a gassy dog as a kid's name, but I wouldn't go for it.

This message was edited 11/11/2007, 1:28 PM

I like a lot of surnames as names, but it seems a little strange to use them if you don't have a family connection with the names. However there is a small kind of squirrel-hunting dog called a Feist and that kind of turns me away from it as a name. Plus it sounds like heist and looks like feast.

Feist the singer. That's all I can think of -- it's not even a last name to me, since I wasn't aware that her name was actually Leslie Feist until it was pointed out. I'm sure if other people have heard of her, they'll think the same.. too pop-culture, even if you didn't intend it to be.