Klemperer is a German-language occupational surname literally meaning "tinker". It is suggested that in the case of the conductor's immediate family the original name was Klopper - one who knocks on doors to get people to go to Synagogue - and was later changed to the better sounding Klemperer which rhymes with Emperor.
The surname may refer to:
Members of the prominent German family:
Otto Klemperer (1885-1973), Jewish German-born conductor, composer and father of Werner Klemperer
Werner Klemperer (1920-2000), German-American actor, son of conductor Otto Klemperer with non-Jewish mother, best known for playing Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes, and musician
Georg Klemperer (1865-1946), Jewish German medical consultant, brother of Victor and cousin to the conductor Otto Klemperer, advised his cousin in America concerning his brain tumour.
Victor Klemperer (1881-1960), Jewish German businessman, journalist, author and literary critic (Professor of Literature)
Otto Klemperer (physicist) (1899–1987), German physicist and cousin to the conductor Otto Klemperer
David Klemperer (born 1980), German beach volleyball player
Felix Klemperer (1866-1932), German internist
Gustav Klemperer von Klemenau (1852–1926), German banker
James von Klemperer (born 1957), American architect
Klemens von Klemperer (1916-2012), German-American historian
Paul Klemperer (born 1956), English economist and Edgeworth Professor of Economics at Oxford University
Ralph von Klemperer, German banker
Viktor Klemperer von Klemenau (1876–1943), German banker
Wilhelm Klemperer (1839–1912), rabbi
William Klemperer, American chemist and Harvard University professor
Wolfgang Klemperer (1893-1965), German-American physicist and aerospace engineer
