Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names. For example, the Schleswig-Holstein Rootdigger group has more than 100,000 emigrants documented, while the website Ahnenforschung im InternetRaum Rheine has hundreds of emigrant names from the Rhineland. Understanding customs used in German names can help you identify your ancestors in records. The following online source contains given names translated into 23 different European languages, including English: Many given names have variants and dialectical forms. Get in touch! Ill walk you through three steps to tracing your Prussian ancestors. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The cousin who came over with his family at the same time chose to use "Black". First Trimester To-Do List: Take Care of Yourself. Why so many people consider themselves German, even though their ancestors lived in other countries, sometimes for hundreds of years. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Mller, Weber, or Schfer) or places. From 1824-1878, East Prussia was combined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, after which they were re-established as separate provinces. "The Top 100 German Surnames." Get unlimited access to premium articles. As German immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways. Most of them originated in mediaeval towns and villages, and as each one had its Carter, Hayward, Thatcher, Smith, and Tailor there were a multitude of original bearers of the name. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Prussian census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more. View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Prussian. There are 18 military records available for the last name Prussian. This is a patronymic name derived from the reduced form of the name 'Abraham' that means 'father of a multitude.'. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised and effective army. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. Germany (GER) Other examples include names such as: Bamberger Bielfeld Erfurt Fischbeck Oldenburg Still others described the location where the person lived. all rights reserved. The most common German surname is Mller (which translates as Miller). Merrow. Several books are available that list variant forms of given names. Site Search. German Last Names and Their English Meanings, The Meaning and Origin of Famous German Names, Everything you need to Know About German Names, The History of Popular German Last Names (Nachnamen), A German-English Glossary of Popular German Abbreviations, Learn How to Say the Days of the Week in German, Learn the German Lyrics to Two Hit Songs by Die Prinzen, German for Beginners: Occupations (Beruf), How The Nursery Rhyme 'Eins, Zwei, Polizei' Can Help You Learn German, Translations of 3 of Rammstein's Top Hits, Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs. (For more see Wikipedia). Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. It was ethnically cleansed of Germans by Poland, the Soviet Union and the allies after World War 2. Braband German. Perhaps, the following explanations and links will help clarify the matter.To begin with you need to be aware that there are, at least, four major categories or groups of people with clear and justifiable claims to being Prussian. While every record of an immigrant, spouse and children has some potential for a specific village name, church records are far and away the most likely to include such information. These were then passed down through each generation. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more. (Kevan Hansens Map Guide to German Parish Registers series, found in many libraries that have German collections, can also give this information.). Here are some of my thoughts regarding genealogy and family names in northeast East Prussia (Ostpreussen) and Memel. The acronyms OHG and MHG stand for Old High German and Middle High German, respectively. The meanings of German last names are those as defined initially when these names became surnames. Find your German last name and learn about the meaning and origins of different German surnames. Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Althann. Use of the ending may result in vowel changes, such as "Hnschen", which is "little Hans". ThoughtCo. But many of these families had a common denominator. Prussia/Preuen was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Questions varied by census yearand didnt guarantee that the enumerator would follow the proper instructionsbut may still provide some insight: US passenger arrival lists often give birthplace (or place of last residence) data. John became John the smith, John the son of Matthew, John the short, or John from Heidelberg. Germany - Names, Personal - Handbooks, manuals, etc. The terms meaning differed greatly during the half-millennium in which the Hohenzollern family wielded power in Central Europe, many of its members crowned Kings of Prussia.. The historical state, political entity, of Prussia (English)/ Preuen (German)- see the blue map on the right.Again quoting from Wikipedia: East Prussia (English)/ Ostpreuen (German), was a political subdivision/ province in the nation-states of Prussia and Germany. Ambly des Ayvelles. In 1790, Baden was the first German state to require fixed surnames. This page was last edited on 29 December 2022, at 15:19. If major changes occur in the naming patterns or form used, that could indicate a ministerial change, perhaps one coming from another area. Different branches of the same family may adopt various surname spellings. Episode 02- March 2019 So you think your ancestor was Prussian.pdf. Three suffixes which often indicate a German occupational name are: -er (one who), commonly found in names such as Fischer, one who fishes; -hauer (hewer or cutter), used in names such as Baumhauer, tree chopper; and -macher (one who makes), found in names like Schumacher, one who makes shoes. An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Prussian ancestors lived in harsh conditions. These embarkation lists (as well as handwritten indexes for them that might be needed as a workaround for bad handwriting) are available on Ancestry.com. Karamazov If this surname looks familiar, it's likely because of Fyodor Dostoevsk y's infamous novel, The Brothers Karamazov. 2005- 2023 eirenicon llc. Find your Dutch last name and learn about name meanings and origins in the Netherlands. In some areas of Germany, individuals took a second surname from the name of a farm.. If his wife inherited a farm, he might change his name to her maiden name. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/german-last-names-1444607. Many of these have been digitized and indexed; look at FamilySearchs list of collections to see whats available for Prussia or the modern German/Polish state your ancestors town of origin is in. It is worth noting that in US Census records this term rarely appears after 1871, the year of the creation of the Second Reich- Germany. )Once again excerpting from Wikipedia: The truth is you really need to know to which of these four groups your family belongs or area(s) from which they came, if you are to have any success in finding their evidence/ records. The former German state of Prussia took its name from the Baltic Prussians, although it was led by Germans who had assimilated the Old Prussians; the old Prussian language was extinct by the 17th or early 18th century.The land of the Old Prussians consisted approximately of central and southern East Prussia - the present-day Warmian-Masurian For example: In most of Germany, the practice of using surnames was well established by the. German last names originate from places and professions inGermany and far beyond, as a list of 100 of the most common German surnames shows. East Prussia (Ostpreuen) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 to 1945. The most Prussian families were found in USA in 1920. Terms such as modo, vulgo, genannt, and alias indicate this naming practice. Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. A couple who have identical first and middle names chose to have different surnames when they got married to avoid confusion. Our team is comprised of parents, experts, and content professionals dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and relevant information in the parenting space. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations. For example, Weber Ernst Friederich Zentner is a man named Ernst Friederich Zentner who is a weaver. This List of Bavarian noble families contains all 338 Bavarian aristocratic families named in 1605 by Siebmacher as well as further additions. Be aware that as people moved, this might change their surname, and it may revert back and forth within the same records. Some local groups are transcribing them, but youll need to write to the office to get records from most places. Once you have some more direction about your ancestors province, consult resources created by individual societies and genealogy groups about Prussians who came from a particular region. Here are some of the US records most likely to reveal your Prussian ancestors town of origin. 3. Apply this search to the main name collection, the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name, search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes, this field understands simple boolean logic, force a term to be included by preceding it with a, force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a, sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations, syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations, names without pronunciations are excluded from results. Meanings and Origins of Common Last Names. The capital city was Knigsberg. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Find your last name and learn about its meaning and origins. In the table, the German name is listed on the left, with its origin (and explanation if needed) on the right. Between 1972 and 2002, in the United States, Prussian life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1986, and highest in 1991. They include Schneider (tailor), Fischer (fisherman) and Weber (weaver). Barbara, for example, can appear as Barbel, Barbele, Barbeli, Brbel, Brbelchen, Brmel, Bbi, or even Wawerl or Wetti. the "eit" at the end of their Surnames. What does it mean when a record(s) says that your family member was Prussian? A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father. Alber (name) Albin (surname) Albrecht; Albrich; Alemann; Allerstorfer; Allmayer; Allram; Alms (disambiguation) Alpenheim; Alscher; Alt (surname) Alterman; Altermann; Altmaier (surname) Altmann (surname) History of German Names. The Celts populated Europe and England until conquered and assimilated by Germanic peoples, The First Reich, or first German Empire, lasted 1000 years, succeeded by the Second Reich in 1871, The 1871 map of Germany shows Prussia at the height of its power, The city of Breslau in Silesia has a long German history, but it is no longer part of Germany, The first practical refrigerator was invented in Germany in 1873. Both contain valuable information about origins; make sure you look for both document types. This is taken from the Hebrew name 'hevel' meaning 'breath,' 'vanity' or 'vapor.'. Do not sell or share my personal information. Browse profiles of historical people with the Prussian last name, This page needs Javascript enabled in order to work properly. What follows is a link to a timeline that enumerates Prussias ascendancy. Fortunately, many US censuses inquired about the respondents place of birth, making them a possible source for your ancestors Prussian origins. PVF was established to research and preserve the culture, genealogy and history of the Pomeranian people who came to the territory of Wisconsin and founded Freistadt in 1839. Surname Changes of German Immigrants in the United States, Surname Changes of German Immigrants in Hungary. Because of this, German last names can be found throughout bordering countries, including Poland, Austria, Franceand Spain. Click. How Continue reading My thoughts regarding genealogy and family names in EastPrussia. But many of these families had a common denominator the eit at the end of their Surnames. By the 1820s, most small German states had extended civil rights to Jews and required them to adopt surnames. *We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs. Adelebsen (German noble family) Ahlefeldt (noble family) Albertine branch. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. Compulsory surname laws were enacted in the German states of Bayern and Mecklenburg in 1813 and 1814. Teutonic Knights and their descendants, the Baltic Germans, prospered for 700 years in north eastern Europe. German given names are often derived from, If an elder child died young, the parents frequently, Some children received as many as four or more given names at baptism. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure. This was 100% of all the recorded Prussian's in USA. German Names from 1495, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael About a hundred masculine and feminine given names collected from an German Eaglessingle head 640 years, double-headed 366 years, then single head ever since 1871. Specifically for Prussian areas that are now in Poland, Kartenmeister gives loads of information about the villages east of the Oder and Niesse rivers (the current boundary between Germany and Poland). 1854. Even after 1871, Germany's land area and political influence shifted several times. Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as John. Or, at least, a record might identify a Provinz (province; plural is Provinzen) to narrow down the search to a particular area of Prussia. A team led by German genealogy scholar Roger P. Minert continues to compile the valuable book series German Immigrants in American Church Records (Family Roots Publishing). This page has been viewed 166,064 times (14,599 via redirect). During the early 20th Century, especially the World War I era, surname changes are recorded more frequently, as immigrants or, more often, their children, tried to adopt more neutral surnames. "Old French Records", at "BYU Script Tutorial", Last edited on 29 December 2022, at 15:19. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed. Acker. However, an "attitude adjustment" will help you solve your Prussia problems. Bauer, Ingrid. The Family History Library has large volumes of microfilm containing births, marriages and deaths from historical Prussia. The online version of MeyersGaz includes the original gazetteers detailed information on each town, then supplements it with interactive modern-day and historical map overlays. Occupational name meaning "cooper, barrel maker" in German. Compiled by subject specialists at the Library of Congress, this guide provides print and online resources for researching the genealogy of German families in the U.S., along with key national, state and local histories. Though its home page is in German, the site has an English-language interface called Genealogy.net. https://script.byu.edu/Pages/the-french-documents-pages/the-french-documents(english), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_name, https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Germany_Personal_Names&oldid=5187196, Surnames of wives and mothers often end with, Another form, indicating a female bearer of a surname, was the addition of a genitive, Most of the time the surname spelling changed to accommodate the, Within the German community, such as the local parish, immigrants may continue to use the proper German name, while at the same time. Spelling of German surnames often changed to reflect. When you face one of these problems, your first stop should be the Meyers Gazetteer, the leading geographical dictionary of German lands published in the Second Empire period and available online. FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. For each Germanic surname in this glossary, we have provided the English meaning, which may or may not be a surname in English. Alternative Spellings & Variations: Anya, Anna, Anne, Aine, Anje, Ania Famous Namesakes: German mountaineer Anja Blacha, Danish charity worker Anja Ringgren Lovn Peak Popularity: While the German spelling of Anja has never ranked in the top 1,000 baby names in the U.S., the name Anya has risen in popularity since the 1980s, peaking in 2009. View Census Data for Prussian | Data not to scale. In January 1871 Germany became a unified country. Bauer, Ingrid. Initially, they were mainly a way of distinguishing between people more easily and as settlements grew into villages, and later towns and cities, descriptions of professions such as tailor, miller and cobbler/shoemaker were attached to peoples first names using the Latin word dictus (called) e.g. To get a quick, pictorial view of the growth of the Nation State of Prussia (it was correctly called Knigreich Preuen- Kingdom of Prussia) what follows below is a set of maps show the nations evolution: West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773-1824 and 1878-1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish fiefdom of Royal Prussia. Schmidt is the most common surname in the central German-speaking and eastern low German-speaking areas. Trace your ancestry in Prussia, Bavaria and more with our guide to research in Germanys historical regions, What is Prussia? Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940. These describe the rank or trade of the original surname recipient and are the second most common group. Where variations of a spelling of a surname occurred, those monikers are listed as separate names. Part of a German's first name(s) could come from. If you are researching ancestors (family) it is possible that your family records are referring to this area. This topic comes up frequently and seems to cause a lot of confusion, especially here in the US. Some farm families, particularly in Westphalia, used the particle "von" or "zu" followed by their farm or former farm's name as a family name. One such group. Saxony A good way to determine naming customs of the area is to study the patterns found in the records of birth/christening, marriages, and burials/deaths. Most Jews did not adopt hereditary family names until required to do so by law. . Notice that there is no apostrophe. 100 Russian Last Names 1. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The problem was usually solved by adding descriptive information. Rudatis German (East Prussian) . Surnames developed from several sources. Frisian names are used in Friesland in East and North Frisia in northwestern Germany. List of Bavarian noble families. This is closely followed by Schmidt (which is associated with the blacksmiths trade and can also be recognized in variations such as Schmitt or Schmitz). Find a Grave has become the leading site showing memorial information, but there are still many offline sources such as marker transcripts in county historical and genealogical libraries. If you are researching ancestors (family) in the US, it is unlikely that your family records are referring to this relationship or ethnic group membership. refused to name politicians allegedly involved in looting . Aalbers Abela Abele Abeles Abrahamsen Achen Achter Achter Achterberg Acker Ackerman Addicks Adriance Akerman Akkerman Al Alberda Albers Alderink Alders Ale Alers Alkema Alles Alper Alsteen Ameling Amerman Amster Andries The 10 Most Common German surnames (with English translations) Becker - baker Fischer - fisherman Hoffmann / Hofmann - courtier or steward Meier or Meyer - manorial landlord, or later, a self-employed farmer Mller - miller Schmidt - smith Schneider - tailor Schulz - sheriff (medieval) Wagner - wainwright (maker & repairer of wagons) Weber - weaver (see below). If a German moved onto someone else's farm estate (or Hof), it was not uncommon to change his last name to that of the farm. Rabideau Henss Family Histories & Genealogy. This is not a list of equivalent names, but rather a sampling of English translations or meanings of German names.In many cases, there may be several possible origins or translations for a surname. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. The list was initially created by searching for the most common last names in German telephone books. Another valuable tool can be the Prussia, Municipality Gazetteer, 1905 (Gemeindelexikon fr Knigreich Preussen) on Ancestry.com. Ackermann. Abram. For researchers with German ancestry, the word Prussia can be a stumperand the fact that theres no such political unit with that name in present-day Europe is just the conundrums starting point. Ammendorf family. Many of these professions no longer exist but survive in naming traditions. Preuen issued an edict on 11 March 1812 that required that permanent family names be adopted within six months. Some of the children born to the couple may have used his surname, while others in the same family used the wife's family name. Bttcher German. Within that name held two syllables which both held distinct meanings. Your support, through donation or affiliate useage, allows ManyRoads to remain online. Prussia shaped the history of Germany, with its capital in Berlin after 1451. In addition to church records, tombstones (often more detailed in earlier eras than they are today) will sometimes have villages of origin carved on them. For instance, Schmidt, which is ranked No. The last name could, for example, also be what you would call a farm name. For example: Althaus ("old house") Birnbaum ("pear tree") The Top 100 German Surnames. She has a teaching degree and an M.A. (All vestages of German government and control were removed following WW2. In 1871, German states united in creating the German Empire under Prussian leadership. Today we are celebrating our mermaid community during MerMay with the release of the following mermaid-themed names, only available for a limited time: Mermaid. When names first came about in German history, people tended to only have one name. Prussian civil registration dates to 1874 in most places, and (for the most part) are kept in the civil registry office (Standesamt) where the event occurred. Church archives themselves are digitizing records from their congregations. You can also find geographic-specific databases of emigrants relating to Prussian areas. In February 1920, Germany (after it had been defeated in 1918) handed over West Prussias central parts to become the so-called Polish Corridor and the Free City of Danzig, while the parts remaining with the German Weimar Republic became the new Posen-West Prussia or were joined to the Province of East Prussia as Regierungsbezirk West Prussia. Patronymic names changed with each generation. (2023, April 5). The more clues you can unearth the better. Sometimes surname spelling variations are based on dialect (a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group) differences. Many people there had German ancestors who emigrated from Saltzburg and a variety of other German cities and states. Aachen (German nobility) House of Absberg. For most, naturalization was a two-step process that required a declaration of intent followed by a petition for naturalization. Some records preface names with occupations, and the occupation may erroneously be indexed as a given name. The Old Prussian tribes inhabited eleven regions (in the Old Prussian language, " tautos "), whose names are mentioned in writings from the 13th century: Semba, Ntanga, Nadrava, Pamede, Vrme, Brta, Skalva, Sudva, Galinda and Kulma. Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien, Countess Katharina Dorothea Finck von Finckenstein, Friedrich Heinrich Ferdinand Leopold von Forcade de Biaix, Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Ernst Heinrich von Forcade de Biaix, Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix, Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Konstantin Quirin Freiherr von Forcade de Biaix, Mathias Franz Graf von Chorinsky Freiherr von Ledske, Friedrich Albrecht Karl Herrmann, Reichsgraf von Wylich und Lottum, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Prussian_nobility&oldid=1107202751, Template Category TOC via CatAutoTOC on category with 101200 pages, CatAutoTOC generates standard Category TOC, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 August 2022, at 18:51. Jews in Germany followed the custom of using only a given name and the name of the father, such as Isaac, son of Abraham (Isaac ben Abraham). Agnet f German (East Prussian), North Frisian (Archaic), East Frisian (Archaic) East Prussian German, North Frisian and East Frisian variant of Agnes via the variant Agnete. House of Alvensleben. Hans dictus Krier (Hans who is called a soldier.). Men often take on the wife's surname if moving onto her property. The use of patronymic names was prevalent in the Schleswig-Holstein and Ostfriesland areas in northern Germany. This is an Ashkenazi Jewish last name of German or Old English origins with the meaning 'plowed field.'. 2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. (For more see Wikipedia). Minert has published more than 20 volumes to date, each with an abstract showing origins written in the more commonly used church registers (baptisms, marriages and burials) but also harder-to-find record groups such as membership lists. Two related pieces of information can come to your rescue. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Prussian surname lived. To view this content, you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. You can see how Prussian families moved over time by selecting different census years. Dive into this disappearing state with this overview of Prussian history. This is especially true for Westfalen (Westphalia) and Hannover and parts of Rheinland and Schlesien (Silesia). It wasnt until the Middle Ages (in approximately the 12th century) that family names came into common use. For example, Hans Petersen was a son of a man named Peter. Naturalization documents are especially important if your ancestor became a citizen (which you can determine by examining federal censuses). . Until then, it was made up of smaller nation-states whose borders frequently changed. Because German genealogical records were kept in various languages, you may find your ancestor's name in different languages at different times. In many cases, the first reference to Prussian ancestry that you see will be from an American record. Listen to this articles Accola. 26). Rostova Leo Tolstoy 's War and Peace. The third most popular last name is Meier (which derives from a term for a high-ranking farmer) and is very common in the low Geman-speaking areas. German Last Names and Their Meanings Population-wise, the oblast is thoroughly Russian and Russophone in character, with almost none of the pre-World War II German, Lithuanian (Lietuvininks), Latvian speaking Kursenieki, or Polish population remaining in todays Kaliningrad Oblast. (Note: Naturalization documents contain uniform information after the process was federalized in 1907, but details will vary in earlier records.). do not look for your family to be German before 1871; there was no Germany before 1871! Multiple given names were often the names of, Germans occasionally use "-chen" and "-lein" as diminutive endings meaning little. Gretchen could be translated little Greta (Margret). For the veterans among your Prussian ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions. These decrees were passed in 1771, 1820, and 1822 in the province of Schleswig-Holstein and in 1811 in Ostfriesland. With this list of German last names, discover the origin of your surname and how your ancestors made it come to life. Once youve found your ancestral town of origin and located it on a map, you can consult a few different resources for Prussian records. Many people there had German ancestors who emigrated from Saltzburg and a variety of other German cities and states. United States (US) Wisconsin (WI) Prairie du Sac/Sumpter Twp. The use of patronymics continued until decrees were passed that required persons to adopt permanent hereditary family names. Understanding Prussian History, 6 Ways to Find Your German Ancestors Place of Origin, Researching Genealogy in Historical German States, Best UK, Irish and Commonwealth Genealogy Websites, Family Tree Templates and Relationship Charts, How to Find Your Ancestors US Military Records, Preserving Old Photos of Your Family History, Surnames: Family Search Tips and Surname Origins, Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, hosts research-aid primers for all of the former Prussian provinces, a historic gazetteer (GOV), and links to many regional groups, Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 18741945.. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Or maybe there are too many villages with the same name to pin down your ancestorslike how theres a Springfield in nearly every US state.
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