 Citing Johannes Hofmann once again, Nerzweiler supposedly has its name from a man named Narriseus, whom Hofmann held to be the village's founder, and thus the original name was "Narriseusweiler".The village's name, Nerzweiler, indeed has the common German placename ending "—weiler", which as a standalone word means “hamlet” (originally “homestead”), to which is prefixed a syllable "Nerz—", but modern placename researchers do not all share Hofmann's interpretation of this prefix (although the ending's origin is indisputable).Researchers Dolch and Greule, for instance, believe it to have arisen from the personal name "Nerizo", suggesting that an early settler named Nerizo founded the village.