The lexical type Topfen is used in Bavaria and Austria. The etymological dictionary of the German language associates Topf with this designation and refers to the Franconian Topfkäse, for example. Which of the two meanings of Topf this name refers to – 'vessel' or 'pot' – remains unknown (cf. Kluge under Topfen). The other derivation comes from nhd. Tupf(en) 'spot, point'. This etymology seems more fitting since Toppen or Doppel is recorded in Swabian and Swiss dialects (cf. DWDS under Topfen).

The distribution of Topfen is interesting from variety linguistic point of view. It is known and used as a dialectal form in Bavarian but stands alongside the common German standard variant Quark which is also mentioned as a dialectally used form. The presence of the variant Quark probably indicates that Topfen is being displaced a basic dialectal form. Contrary to the German standard, Topfen is a commonly used standard variant in Austria. This is visible in the fact that Quark is virtually non-existent as a dialectal variant while the Alemannic Vorarlberg has implemented Topfen into the dialect as a Bavarian quasi-loanword.

Seebold, Elmar (2012): Kluge. Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, Berlin, DeGruyter

Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Hrsg.) (2004-): Das Digitale Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, Berlin

Link

Neuhochdeutsch (ISO 639-3)