ohm

The unit is named after Bavarian physicist Georg Ohm. His surname is first recorded in the 12th century, coming from German Ohm, meaning "uncle", ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *auhaim ("maternal uncle"), related to Proto-Germanic *awô ("grandfather, paternal uncle") plus *haimaz ("home").

What began as a family name meaning "uncle" became, through one scientist's fame, the fixed term for a unit of electrical resistance.

The surname is a doublet of oom and of the dialectal English word eam, both also meaning "uncle", tracing back to the same Germanic root.