Neanderthal
mid 19th century: from Neanderthal, the name of a region in Germany (now Neandertal ) where remains of Neanderthal man were found.
wiktionary
From obsolete German Neanderthal, now spelled Neandertal, the name of a valley (German Tal, older also spelled Thal) near Düsseldorf where the first Neanderthal was discovered in 1856. A hollow near the valley was known as Neanderhöhle(“Neander Hollow”) and Neandershöhle(“Neander’s Hollow”) in the early 19th century, and the valley had been renamed to Neanderthal in 1850, in honour of the German Calvinist theologian and hymn writer Joachim Neander (1650–1680). Before, the valley was known as das Gesteins(literally “The Rocks”) and Hundsklipp(literally “Dog Cliff”).
The name of Joachim Neander is based on the Ancient Greek translation ( νέος(néos) + ᾰ̓νήρ(anḗr)) of his original surname Neumann(“ Newman”).
etymonline
Neanderthal (adj.)
1861, in reference to a type of extinct hominid, from German Neanderthal "Neander Valley," name of a gorge near Düsseldorf where humanoid fossils were identified in 1856.
The place name is from the Graecized form of Joachim Neumann (literally "new man," Greek *neo-ander), 1650-1680, German pastor, poet and hymn-writer, who made this a favorite spot in the 1670s. Adopting a classical form of one's surname was a common practice among educated Germans in this era. As a noun, by 1915; as a type of a big, brutish, stupid person from 1926. They were extinct by about 35,000 years ago. That they interbred with modern humans was long debated and denied, but DNA analysis settled the question in 2013: They did.
