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German
Surnames – Their Meaning & Origin By Karl R. Mesloh - New For “The Towpath” January 1993 -
January 1994
Those
of you who have German ancestors, did you ever wonder what your surname (last
name) means, or how it originated?
Dr. George F. Jones wrote a most interesting and informative book on
the subject titled, "German American Names", in which he
interpreted 12,700 names. In this and four ensuing articles, a look
will be taken at the origins, and an attempt will be made to interpret as
many of the German names on “The Towpath" mailing list as
possible. (Incidentally, Wayne Wenning, of “The Evening Leader",
placed a copy of Dr. Jones’ book in each of the four local libraries:
New Bremen, New Knoxville, Minster and St. Marys.) The
earliest German names were just a single name. It was not a first name, or a last
name, it was just a "name". This "name" was
composed of two syllables with each syllable representing a "root",
and each "root" having a specific meaning. This name was very
important to the Germans, for it represented that whatever they were
today, whatever they would be tomorrow, and whatever virtues they would pass
along to their namesakes, all lay in that "name" and so the
Germans chose their name very carefully. Whenever
the Germans wanted to emphasize some particular aspect of their “being”, they
used a tautological name; by tautological, it is meant that the name
consisted of two different roots, but with each root having the same meaning. For example, an expert or adept swordsman
might choose or be given the name "Schwerdecke" by his fellow
warriors; "schwerd" meaning sword, and "ecke" meaning
sword so the name meant, sword-sword. Another example would be the name
"Richwald" as "rich" meant ruler and "wald"
meant ruler and so the name meant, ruler-ruler (please note, the ancient root
"wald" meant ruler but today "wald” means forest). There are
at least three such tautological names in the local area: Mesloh
meaning "swampy low forest" or simply "swampy forest",
(the tautology being that a "low
forest" grows in a swamp; Huckriede meaning "marsh-reed marsh";
Klipfels meaning "cliff-cliff" and so one would conclude
that the Meslohs lived in or near a very swampy place, the Huckriedes
in or near a very
marshy place, and the Klipfels on a very high or steep or prominent (in
some aspect) cliff. There
are various suffixes (or root endings) of interest, which earlier were
of considerable importance: 1)
"er" originally meant that the person whose name ended in
"er" was an owner of a farm at the terrain feature indicated by
the two "roots", for example, the name, "Rothenberger"
would mean that a person by the name of Rothenberg owned a farm at "red
mountain"; in time it also meant a dweller at, or near, or on red
mountain. "Er" can also mean
that the person “is a doer of
something", for example, the name "Becker" can mean a "baker" (as well as a dweller, or farm owner on a stream). From these several examples it is seen that
the specific geographical location is both necessary and important for
an accurate interpretation of one's name.
Incidentally, some names end in "ert" but the addition of
the "t” neither adds nor subtracts anything from the meaning of the
name; the "t" was added to help in pronunciation indicating that
the "r" was not to be trilled. 2)
The suffix "en" essentially meant "at" the terrain
feature the "en" followed. An interesting name in which this suffix
is highlighted is the name, "Ziegenbusch". The ancient root,
"Ziege" means "goat" and although a literal translation
of "Ziegenbusch" can be "goat bush" there is yet another,
and even more interesting! In ancient
days, whenever the wine of the new harvest was ready for drinking, the inn or
tavern keepers would hang a piece of greenery, such as a limb of a bush, on
their doorframe to so indicate the new wine was ready. Thus, early on, all
inn or tavern keepers were called Busch or Buschers or Buschman from this
hanging out of a green bush. If an Englishman were asked as to where he was
going, he would probably reply, "to the Red Lion" or "to the
Silver Chalice", or to whatever the name of his favorite pub might be. A
German so asked might reply, "Zum die Ziegen" or "at the
Goat" and thus the name Ziegenbusch translates, "tavern or inn
keeper at (or of) Goat Tavern".
This practice of hanging out some "greenery" whenever the
wine of the new harvest is ready to drink is still followed today in some
parts of Germany and Austria; at least it was as late as July 1991, as this
author can happily attest! 3) The suffix "ing" means "belonging to", for example, the name "Kuenning" means "belonging to the Brave (family or clan or group of warriors, etc.) 4)
The suffix “ingen" means the place where the "roots"
people lived; for example, the village of Sulingen, in northern Germany,
means "the place where Sul's people lived". 5) The suffix "sen" means "son of". 6)
The suffix "ssen" originally meant "the first generation ‘son
of’ to bear that particular name". So
much for "root" endings; let us look at the "roots"
themselves. Essentially there are four major classifications of German name
"roots": 1. Military 2. Terrain and Its Features 3. Professions 4. Miscellaneous, such as nicknames, personal
characteristics, abnormalities etc. Part Two - Military Roots
In the previous segment, we saw that the olden German name was
a single name, composed of two syllables with each syllable representing a
root and each root having a specific meaning. Root classifications are mainly
Military, Terrain, Professional and Personal Characteristics (miscellaneous).
In this part, a look will be taken at names having at least one Military
Root. The early Germans lived in a tribal and agricultural
culture, but they also loved war. Cornelius Tacitus, a renowned Roman
historian (55-120 AD) wrote in 98 AD that "the Germans were a rough,
warlike barbarian people". (Tacitus recorded his observations on German
life and customs in one of his histories titled, " North and central Military names consisted of roots designating anything
military such as weapons, military
virtues, predatory birds and animals, victory, rule, fortresses, treasure,
etc. “Battle” furnished the root, “Gund”; battleground, “wal”; battle axe,
"bart"; spear, "ger"; sword, "ecke”, “bil”, “brand”,
or “schwerd"; and helmet, "helm"; eagle, "arn";
raven, "ram"; bear, "ber”; boar, "ebur"; lion,
"leuew”, “leon"; stag, "hirsch"; victory,
"sieg"; fortress, "burg"; rule, "wald”, rich;
treasure, "od"; courage, "mut";
determination, "wille"; strong, "hart"; power,
"macht"; etc. Very little is known of German warriors earlier than 120 BC
except for that related in epics, eddas and sagas; however, some information
was preserved by Roman historians along with observations and comments by
Julius Caesar, prior to Tacitus's writing
of his "Germania" history. It is known that Julius Caesar
(102 - 44 BC) recruited German
cavalrymen from the German tribes, as they were expert horsemen. Such
horsemen were named, "Reiters" or "Reuters" (in the
Middle Ages, knights were named "Ritters", a name reserved for the
gentry). The German fighters were mostly armed with a shield, ("lind”,
“rand”, “schild”), a spear ("ger"), axe ("bart") and
sometimes a sword ("ecke"). During the Bronze Age, German smiths
were excellent artisans and crafted magnificent, beautiful swords and battle
axes. Since bronze had to be imported, few such swords or battle axes were
carried as a result of their costliness; thus, spearmen outnumbered swordsmen.
This is also seen from the list of "Towpath" names below
where "spear" names outnumber the "sword" names 6-4. The
expertise of the German smiths did not carry over from the Bronze Age,
(1800-800 BC) into the early years of the Iron Age, (1000BC-1860AD), so their iron swords
were not very strong or dependable, breaking rather easily. It was not until
the centuries following Tacitus (100 AD) that swords became commonplace in
the hands of German warriors. When reviewing the following names, please keep in mind that
the interpretation of such names is "generic"; one must know the
circumstances under which the name was "coined" to know its meaning
accurately. A good example is the name "Luedeke", which has four
meanings: Loud Sword, Illustrious Sword, Loud Army or Illustrious Army. Was the sword of the original Luedeke
wielded with such vigor that it "sang" when whirled or was
its clamor loud upon contacting shield or armor? Was the sword wielded in an illustrious
manner or was its beauty illustrious to behold? Was his army loud in battle, or in victory,
or illustriously led? Such answers are
necessary for an accurate interpretation; in lieu of such source specifics,
namesakes are free, of course, to choose whatever interpretation they find
most appealing. |
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“Towpath” Military Names |
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Ahlers-
noble and bright Barber-bear-bear,
strong warrior Bertke-brilliant
and loyal and sword Billger-
battle axe and spear Bordewisch-
battle axe and white or meadow Brandt-
sword Busse-
protection and strong Casebolt-
castle crossbow bolts maker Conradi-
son of Conrad, brave and counsel Dietrich-
folk and rule Dilger-
folk and rule and spear Egbert-
sword and brilliant Erhardt-
honor and strong Frey-
free Gaerke-
little Gearhard, spear and strong Garman-
spearman Graf-
count Greiwe-
count, overlord, governor, administrative official Greber-
official of a free community Harrod
(English) mighty in battle Hartman-
strongman Hartwig-
strong and guard Heinfeld-
home and master and field Hellswarth-
army or battle blacksmith Henkener-
home and master Henning-
belonging to Heinrich, home and master Hoffman-
courtier, or manager of a cloister farm King-
from “Koenig” meaning “king” Koenig-
king Kuenning-
belonging to the brave (clan, tribe or family) Kuhn- brave |
Kunning-
belonging to the brave (clan, tribe or family) Lampert-
land and bright Laut-
loud, lute Ludeka-
loud or illustrious wolf Luedeke-
loud or illustrious sword or loud and illustrious army Lunz-
fuze, harquebusier Mackenbach-
guardian of the brook boundary Maze-
mousehawk Meckstroth-
power and straw, road builder Phlipot-
??Phillip’s Messenger?? Rabe-
raven Reiter-
cavalryman, rider Reynolds-
counsel and rule Ritter-
knight Roediger-
illustrious and spear Roettger-
illustrious and spear Schmidt-
smith Schweissguth-
blood, sweat and property, estate Siferd-
victory and guardian Smith-
from “Schmidt” meaning smith Thieman-
folk and man Turner-
tower dweller or keeper Victor-
victor Ward-
watchman and lookout Warner-
protection and army, an alerter or warner Watkins-
clothes, battle and army Wehrman-
defenseman Weseli-
??protection and army?? Wessel-
protection and army Wierwille-
determination and fish pond Will- determination |
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Local Military Names of interest |
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Beer-
bear Bruns-
from “Bruno” meaning bear Burke-
castle Cron-
from “Kron” meaning “crown” Falk-
falcon Frysinger-
belonging to the free Germann-
spearman Giere-
“gerfalcon” Hartings-
army and battle Heinrich-
home and master Heyne-
home and master Homan- courtier |
Hoying-
belonging to the guard Kemp-
champion Kuckerman-
cook, army and man Leugers-
lion and spear Manger-
spearman Ruppert-
famous and bright Seitz-
victory and protection Walter-
rule and army Wenning-
protection and army Wente-
protection and army Willhoff- determination and
court |
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Part Three – Terrain Roots Earlier, we saw that the earliest German names were
predominantly military as although the Germans lived in a tribal and agricultural
culture, they loved war; it was their main occupation. As the population
expanded, the need for sufficient and dependable food supplies as well as war
equipment gave rise to those engaged specifically in farming and
"smithing", thus introducing names involving terrain and
professional roots. Here, a look will be taken at names derived from
"terrain" features and those from "professions" will be
discussed later. When it was learned that the name "Mesloh" meant
"swamp dweller" (actually "swampy low forest", but more
fun is had with "swamp dweller"!), I became interested in the
geography of North Germany. My
ancestors came from the area of Barnstorf & Diepholz in the duchy of
Hannover. A little village is there yet today called "Mesloh",
about 15 miles east of Barnstorf, home to 34 residents with several having
the name "Mesloh". Cornelius
Tacitus, the same Roman historian who wrote that the Germans were a “rough,
warlike barbarian people", also wrote in 98 AD that the Northern
European Plain, a portion of which we know now as North Germany, was "a
land of vast swamps". Other reference sources report that North Germany
was at one time, "a vast swampland". Although Germany has been dry
for the past several hundred years, the early North German "terrain"
names would predominantly connote some aspect of "water" - swamps,
marshes, reeds, ponds, dikes, dams, thickets, hursts, streams, brooks,
rivers, bogs, fens, moors, etc. Charlemagne started building the first canals
in Germany in the year 800 AD to facilitate transportation between the Rhine
and the Danube rivers in the south, between the Rhine and the Main rivers in
central Germany, and between the Rhine and the Maas rivers in the north. As
the population continued to increase, the need for additional farmland grew
and canals were built to drain the swampy lands, a technique in which the
Germans became quite expert. In fact, when the word spread throughout Europe
in the early 1800s that land in the "Great Black Swamp" (New Bremen is on
the southern edge), was available, Germans flocked to this area, as they had
the expertise to drain the swamps converting them to rich farmlands (as we
all know!). Their work on the Miami and Erie Canal and other drainage
projects is also well known in this area. Central Germany is much like Pennsylvania and names
originating there would reflect the rolling hills, gentle slopes, shallow
valleys, meadows, groves, extensive farmlands, etc. Names originating in south Germany would reflect the high
mountains, peaks, crags, cliffs, rocks, deep valleys, heavy forests,
etc. Second only to war, the Germans loved freedom. Their military
tactics were "attack oriented", with little or no thought given to
defensive positions. Their living, although tribal, was also freedom minded -
they shunned villages, fortified sites and walled cities. And so those not militarily named took, or
were given, names of the nearest prominent terrain feature nearest their
living site. For example, a man living
near a pile of rocks would be called "Steiner", a mountain dweller
would be a "Bergman", a dweller near a reedy site would be a
"Riethman", a dweller along a stream, a "Becker" and so
on. But what about a name that apparently has no logical connection such as
"Hemmert" which means "swamp dweller"? James Bruns’
maternal ancestors by the name of "Hemmert" originated in Bavaria,
essentially a land of no swamps, so how did a person get a "swamp
dweller" name? Although there are no swamps in Bavaria today, the
Hemmerts could have lived on a farm that hundreds of years previously was
swampy land, and that knowledge passed along through the generations would be
enough to name the first resident on that land, "swamp dweller"!
Another interesting name is "Bordewisch" meaning Battle Axe &
Meadow. Undoubtedly a Bordewisch
ancestor excelled or distinguished himself wielding a battle axe(s) in a
particular meadow and was given his name by his fellow warriors; crossed
battle axes in the family's crest and seal would attest to such honor. Earlier, the usage of tautological names was explained, which
at the time of writing, numbered only three in this area. Since then (and
with thanks given to James Bordewisch of Dayton, Ohio for his insight into
the root, "wisch"), a fourth tautological name has been added -
"Feldwisch" meaning “Field-Meadow” which indicates the meadow was
exceptionally large. So, to the very
swampy (Mesloh), the very marshy (Huckriede), the very steep or otherwise
prominent cliff (Klipfels), the large meadow (Feldwisch) is added. The suffix "er" originally meant an owner of a farm
at the terrain feature named, but today, the "er” means a dweller at
that terrain feature. Sometimes a "t" is added to the
"er" but an "ert" suffix has no different meaning than
the simple "er". Likewise, the root "man" can also mean a
dweller, but there is no significance in the root's meaning, whether it is
spelled "man" or "mann". At other times some consonants
are doubled, but the doubling does not result in any change in the name's
meaning, so an olden spelling of "Mesloh" was "Messloh or even
Messlow" but all three interpret the same, as per Dr. Jones. When
reviewing the following names, please keep in mind that the interpretation of
such is "generic"; one must know the site or circumstances under
which the name was coined to know its exact meaning. |
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“Towpath” names with Terrain Roots |
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Ashbaugh: Brook Among The Ash Trees Beal: Hill Beck:
Brook or Stream Bell:
White Poplar; Part Of Ship Belton:
White Poplar & Fir Boecker:
Dweller By A Stream; baker Boesel:
Village Name Bordewisch:
Battle Axe Meadow Bornhorst:
Spring Thicket Braddock:
Broad Drydock Brandt:
Forest Clearing; Sword Brantly:
Dweller In Forest Clearing Brookhart:
Brake Forest Brucken: Dweller At The Bridge Bruns:
Dweller Near A Spring Dicke:
Dweller Near A Thicket Dickman: Dweller By A Pond; Fat Man Donnerberg: Thunder Mountain Elsass: Alsatian Gilberg:
Scion Mountain. Griesdorn: Gravel Thicket Grover: Dweller In A Hollow Hagens: Enclosure; Hedge. Hagerstrand:
Dweller In An Enclosure & ? Headapohl: Swampy Pond Heinfeld: Grove & Field; Home & Master Heitkamp: Heath Field Hemmert: Swamp
Dweller, wet spot in woods or meadow, home and bright, dweller of Hemme Hertenstein: Wooded
Mountain Hickman: Enclosure Dweller Hirschfeld: Stag or
Deer Field Hogenkamp: Enclosed Field Holcomb:
Elder Tree & Comb |
Holleman: Dweller Among Elder Trees Holmer:
Island Dweller Huckriede: Marsh-Reed
Marsh Lesher: Dweller On The
Lesch River Malik: Boundary Marker Mansperger: Mountain Dweller;
Sparrowhawk Man Mesloh: Swampy Low
Forest Nedderman: Dweller On The
Nette River Niekamp: New Field Pulskamp: Pool Field Quellhorst: Spring Near A
Thicket Ratchford: Swift Ford
(Possibly) Reed: Reed, Marshland Sauerland: Southern Land
(Mountain Range/Westphalia) Schwieterman: Swissman Slade:
Reed Bank Slattery: Dweller Near A
Swamp Sollman: Dweller Near Muddy
or Bog Land; A Tollman Staubitz: Dust Village Stauffer: Crag Dweller; Cup
(Mug) Maker Stegall: Foot Bridge; Eel Steinecker: Farmer On A Stony
River; Stone Corner Steinke: Little Stone; Stone
Corner Strasburg: City Name; Road
Castle Sunderman: South Farmer or
Dweller Tomhafe:
At The Oats Uetrecht: City Name Vondenhuevel: From The Hill Weinberg: Vinyard Wellman: Dweller By A Marsh; Well Man Westerheide: West Marsh Wisner: Dweller On A Meadow Wittenbrink: White Grassy
Raised Ground Wourms: City Name |
Local Terrain
Names of Interest
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Aufderhaar: On The Marsh Brockert: Brake Dweller Dammeyer:
Farmer At The Dike Dearbaugh:
Animal Brook Dorsten:
Doorstone Feldwisch:
Field-Meadow Griesinger:
Gravel & Spear Honingford:
Beekeeper At The Ford Haberkamp:
Oat Field Haeseker:
Dweller Among The Hazels Heidt:
Heath Hittepole: Heath Pond |
Hoge:
Enclosure, Hedge Holtzapple: Crab Apple Huelsman:
Dweller Among The Hollies Katterheinrich:
Master Of A Fenced Home Klipfels: Cliff-Cliff Morgendal: Morning Valley Newman: Proprietor Of The Neuhoff (New Farm) Scharfenberger: Dweller On Sharp Mountain Stellhorn:
Mountain Peak Steinbrugge: Dweller At Stone Bridge Waesch: Washing, Bleaching |
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Part Four – Profession Roots Previously, it was seen that an expanding population increased
the need not only for military equipment but for dependable food supplies as
well, thus giving rise to those persons exclusively engaged in farming and
"smithing". Here, a look
will be taken at names deriving from profession roots. The author is greatly appreciative of
additional insights into names, roots and customs provided by James
Bordewisch of Dayton and Dr. John Dickman of Columbus. The two oldest professions of men are hunting and fishing
which produced the names of Jaeger (Yeager) and Fischer. Next, came the names
of Schmidt (Smith) and Müller (miller) with Meyer (farmer) close behind. The local "smith" was very highly respected as the
German warriors believed that "Der Schmidt" had mythical powers to
impart magical qualities into the weapons and armor they forged, giving that
warrior an edge in battle, a "little something extra", highly
desired, of course. German folk literature, such as "The
Nibelungenlied", is full of magical swords, impenetrable armor, cloaks
of invisibility, mythical dwarfs and elves.
There are thirteen different ways of spelling "Schmidt" in German, which
indicates the esteem the name “Schmidt” once held. Regarding the name Miller, a frequently asked question has
been, "Why do Millers spell their names Müller, Mueller, Möllar,
Moeller?" The answer is twofold: 1) The Germans had
various types and sizes of grain mills.
Some were hand held, while others
were quite large. Möllar derives from the Latin "molinarius"
meaning "miller"; Müller comes from the root "muhl" or
"muehl" meaning "mill".
2) The German spelling of Möllar and Müller was with an umlaut (ö & ü) on the
vowels. The umlaut superimposes an “e”
on the vowel sound for pronunciation, and is not generally used in
America. Möllar became Moeller and
Müller became Mueller. (Of course, by simply dropping the umlaut, Mollar and
Muller remained the same in America.
If "Der Muller" ground white flour, he became a "Weissmiller" and if he ground brown flour, he became a "Braunmiller". This system of naming also held true in the case
of leather tanning. A tanner of leather was a "Gerber"; if he
tanned white leather, he was a "Weissgerber" and a tanner of red leather was a "Rotgerber". The root "miller"
frequently appears as the second root
with the first root indicating where the miller lived, or the location of the
mill. Examples are Bahnmueller, meaning “miller on the path”, Bachmueller
(brook miller) Mosmueller (marsh miller) Rismueller (swamp miller), etc. There are numerous roots designating “farmer”, some of which are: Meyer, Myer, Myers, Meier, Mayer, Mann, Hofer, Hoffner,
Bauer, Baur, and Baumann. A German
once told me that the Meyers and Millers
of Germany are like the Smiths and Joneses of America. The root
"meyer" often appears as the second root, with the first
root designating the location of the farm.
(Klingenmeyer or "farmer in the gorge", Reitmeyer, or
"farmer in the clearing".) The root "meyer" can also mean
"manager" and this can be seen in the name of Kellermeyer which
means "manager or keeper of the cellar",
Hoffman, or "manager of a cloister farm" while a Hoffmeyer is an "estate manager". There
are several interesting peculiarities regarding
farmer and other professional names. Whenever a man changed houses or professions,
he took the name of the new farm, new
house, or new profession to which he was moving while leaving behind his old
name. A similar situation
existed when the olden Germans changed houses. The German moving
took the name of the new house and left his old name behind. A famous example of this procedure occurred
in Maintz in 1444 AD. A young man by the name of
"Gensfleisch" (goose flesh) set
up a printing press in the house
of "Guttenberg" (good mountain). We know him today as
"Guttenberg, the father of modern printing". There is yet another
interesting item regarding the
perpetuation of the "house" or
"farm" name. Farms were passed along to sons which naturally bore
the house's surname but if a farmer had no sons and only daughters,
whenever the daughter(s) married,
her new husband then took the surname
of the house (farm) thus keeping the farm's name intact. This custom is called "Stabrut" (Low
German) or, "Erbtochter" (High German), and on occasion, is still practiced today, most generally in
North Germany. |
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“Towpath”
Profession Names |
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Local
Profession Names (of interest) |
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Part Five – Miscellaneous
Roots This is the fifth and final
part of the series, "German Surnames - Their Meaning &
Origin". Here a look will be taken at the
"miscellaneous" classification of roots
which includes "physical characteristics", nicknames and religious
origins. Before proceeding with this article, one of the joys of this hobbyist onomastician (a studier of names) has been
the finding of tautological names (Germans used a tautological name to
emphasize a particular feature or trait of the bearer - it was an extra
special name). To date, four such tautological names have been found:
Huckriede (marsh), Klipfels (cliff), Feldwisch (field or meadow), Mesloh
(swamp) - all terrain oriented names.
And now for the first time in this area, a tautological military name
has been encountered - the name of "Barber" which means
"Bear-Bear". The original warrior given the name of
"Barber" must have been a ferocious warrior having all the
characteristics of an angry bear in battle! Previously we have seen that Germans were given military names
for their prowess in battle, names for terrain features near which they
lived, or names for professions in which they were engaged. Germans were also given names which derived
from physical characteristics, such as the
color of one's hair or beard (Schwartskopf or black
head, Rotbart or red beard), a Kraus was curly haired, a Kahl was bald, a
Homan was a tall or prominent man, Kurtz, a short man. A restless person might be named Hommel
(bumble bee). Sometimes, nicknames became surnames over a period of time: a
person called "der Fuchs" (the fox) or "die Gans" (the
goose) or "das Eichhoernchen" (the squirrel, in time simply became
Fuchs, Gans or Eichhoernchen. Other names were shortened such as Kelchner
(Chalice Maker) to Kelch (Chalice) or Nagler (Nail Smith) to Nagel (Nail).
Although a son of Kelchner might have at one time been called Kelch or Chalice for short or even
Chalice as a nickname, Kelch in becoming the surname would still mean "Chalice Maker", actually a
professional name rather than a miscellaneous name as listed in this article.
A person was sometimes named for the product he sold, so a "seller of lace"
would be a Lietz (Lace); on the other hand, Lietz could have derived from a
nickname referring to a person of higher economic status who wore
"lace" on his clothing. Regarding religion, Germany was pagan prior to the 700s (AD).
Although the Germans had three main gods: Woden, Tiu and Thor, they also had
many lesser gods, all of whom they believed made their homes in trees or
groves of trees, predominantly but not exclusively the oaks. Thus the Germans
regarded certain trees and groves as being sacred. One of the first things
the Christian missionaries did to impress the Germans that their gods were
impotent, was to cut down their sacred oak trees and groves. (As an item of
interest and whether it be a carryover of respect from earlier tree worship
or simply wise stewardship, Germany today has one of the foremost, if not the
foremost, program in the world for woodland management and preservation. No
German is permitted to cut down a tree, whether it be on private or public
land, without first obtaining governmental permission and if granted, at
least one replacement tree must be planted for each one cut.) There is an
interesting name in this area which might indicate a sacred tree,
"Wietholter" which interprets, "Willow Tree Loyal, or Willow
Tree Beholden". Germany was Christianized in the 700s. In 716 AD, an
Englishman of noble Saxon birth by the name of
"Wynfrith" became enthused with the evangelistic
spirit. With the help of Irish monks, he attempted to evangelize the Saxons
of north Germany, but met with little
success. Moving southward, Wynfrith and his Irish monks met with great success Christianizing South Germany. In
recognition of his efforts, Wynfrith was canonized to Saint Boniface. In 753,
Boniface once again returned to North Germany in another attempt to Christianize the Saxons
but was killed by a band of savages.
Charlemagne then conquered the Saxons, Christianizing them via the sword in the period of 770-800 AD. In one battle alone, 4500 Saxons gave
up their heads rather than convert to Christianity; the Saxons were a very determined and stubborn people. Names evolved through the centuries. As the population increased, the need to distinguish between persons having the same name living in the
same general area arose. Say four
Johanns were living close together. The one living among the oaks would be called Johann Eichner; the one living by the bridge
would be Johann Bruecker; the one living near the church would be
Johann Kirchner; the one at the ford would be Johann Furth and so began the
use of a first and last name. Christian names entered the scene in the mid 700s to 800 AD,
the start of the Christian era, but progressed very slowly until the mid
1500s at which time the Roman Catholic Church required parents to give each
newborn child the name of a saint as its first name. After having given the
child a holy name, the parent could then add a secular middle name and so
this was the start of having three names - a first, middle and last. The
Protestants also followed this same procedure, except a different listing of
saints was used. The passing of the surname from "father to son to
son", while starting in the Christian era, most probably gathered its strength
during this same general period of 1500-1600 AD. |
“Towpath”
Miscellaneous Surnames
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“Towpath” Religious Surnames
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Sorry,
interpretations were not found for the following names: |
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Please
keep in mind that the interpretations of names given in these "Towpath"
articles are "generic" interpretations - to know the exact meaning of
one's name, it is necessary to know the exact geographical location of the
site where the name was "coined" or the particular circumstances
under which it was given. Dr. Jones used the earliest or most ancient meaning
of name roots in his book. It should be noted that the meaning of some roots
changed during the passage of time; therefore, root meanings found in today's
dictionaries might have no relation to the original meaning; The original
meaning of "Schoenwald" meant "Beautiful Ruler”, but today it means
“ In
conclusion, I would like to say I have thoroughly enjoyed writing these article on German names. I greatly appreciate those of you who have called or written
or even dropped by to chat and certainly appreciate the insights you have passed along, not only on your own name, but others as well. Since
these articles began with "Swamp" (by that I mean upon learning my name meant "Swamp Dweller", I
set out to find out "why"), perhaps it is only fitting that they
conclude with "Swamp". Did you know that the meaning of "
Mr. Mesloh wishes to acknowledge two main references in
preparing these articles on
the origin and meaning of German American surnames: 1) German American Names by George F. Jones - Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 2) Dictionary of German Names by Hans Bahlow – Max Kade Institute for
German-American Studies (Univ. of Wisconsin) |
