But the most likely derivation of the name comes from the shape of the mountain as a whole. A brocken in German is a large, shapeless mass. The size of the Brocken may thus have given it its name. Since the term block has a similar meaning, this could also be the derivation of its alternative name, the Blocksberg. The true origin of the name Blocksberg, however, should not be seen as block in the sense of mass, but rather the German word block (as in block of wood) in witchcraft.