in German studies. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. 2 Der Spiegel: India anger over 'racist' German magazine cartoon on 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. 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). It possibly means "ploughed region" or "marshy region" in Old High German. Standesamt I in Berlin holds duplicate copies of civil registries in eastern Prussian territories now in Poland or Russia. 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. The following is a screenshot of the full list of current last names available: We will continue to make additional updates to the available last name pool . 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. Understanding customs used in German names can help you identify your ancestors in records. This guide goes through the best Prussian genealogy records that may help you pinpoint your ancestors origins. ManyRoads' work and material is licensed under a: Though its home page is in German, the site has an English-language interface called Genealogy.net. Naturalization documents are especially important if your ancestor became a citizen (which you can determine by examining federal censuses). "Old French Records", at "BYU Script Tutorial", Last edited on 29 December 2022, at 15:19. Many things are said to be a state of mind. For genealogists seeking 19th- and early 20th-century ancestry in what was then the largest German Empire state of Prussia, Prussian is a kind of a state of mind. 4. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Bttcher German. German Surnames and Their Meanings and Origins - ThoughtCo Episode 02- March 2019 So you think your ancestor was Prussian.pdf. What does it mean when a record(s) says that your family member was Prussian? But many of these families had a common denominator the eit at the end of their Surnames. Bsch 1 German. Braband German. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. 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. When names first came about in German history, people tended to only have one name. 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. Preuen issued an edict on 11 March 1812 that required that permanent family names be adopted within six months. Hans dictus Krier (Hans who is called a soldier.). 400+ Popular German Last Names | Thought Catalog . Where variations of a spelling of a surname occurred, those monikers are listed as separate names. Prussian genealogy research isnt always easy. These names include: Applebaum apple tree; Birnbaum pear tree; Buchsbaum box tree; Kestenbaum chestnut tree; Kirschenbaum cherry tree; Mandelbaum almond tree; Nussbaum nut tree;. This is a patronymic name derived from the reduced form of the name 'Abraham' that means 'father of a multitude.'. For example, Hansel and Gretel for Johan and Margret. Part of a German's first name(s) could come from. If doing ancestry searches, you should be aware that in some areas of Germany, such as Westfalen, Hannover, Lippe-Detmold, Oldenburg and Schlesien, there are exceptions to the rule which make research more complicated. View Census Data for Prussian | Data not to scale. ThoughtCo, Apr. all rights reserved. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Mller, Weber, or Schfer) or places. 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). 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. Pages in category "German-language surnames" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 4,357 total. 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. Ambly des Ayvelles. Terms such as modo, vulgo, genannt, and alias indicate this naming practice. Frisian names are used in Friesland in East and North Frisia in northwestern Germany. the "eit" at the end of their Surnames. Arick Prussian Dallmann Prussian Prussian Fuge Prussian Hittenrauch Prussian from the prussian word von hittenraoucht meaning "of royalty" Langwer Prussian Lemke Prussian Prussian Pommerania Lubbe German, Slavic, Prussian Variant of Lubben. Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning. 3. For most, naturalization was a two-step process that required a declaration of intent followed by a petition for naturalization. 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.. Tip: If you are researching this area and are examining a time frame earlier than 1947, you should focus on German place names and social conventions in order to maximize your success. 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. When researching/reading genealogical records, this is most often the group/ nation to whom your family members are claiming an allegiance or an affiliation. German Names from 1495, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael About a hundred masculine and feminine given names collected from an East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. Live news updates from April 26: UK blocks Microsoft-Activision deal (Hans itself is a familiar variant of Johan.). 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. As the population increased, it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same name. Germany (GER) Most Popular German Last Names on Family Education: Abbas, Altergott, Adler. German names are strong and have a long history behind them. Find your Dutch last name and learn about name meanings and origins in the Netherlands. Here are some of my thoughts regarding genealogy and family names in northeast East Prussia (Ostpreussen) and Memel. You might even be happy to see that detail rather than the even more generic Germanyuntil you look at the map and realize how big Prussia had become in the 19th century. Likewise, early German censuses were thrown away, though some remain in local government archives. You can also find geographic-specific databases of emigrants relating to Prussian areas. England Surnames Derived from Occupations, Ranks - International For example: In most of Germany, the practice of using surnames was well established by the. This page was last edited on 29 December 2022, at 15:19. For example, Weber Ernst Friederich Zentner is a man named Ernst Friederich Zentner who is a weaver. German Surnames - Behind the Name 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). However, an "attitude adjustment" will help you solve your Prussia problems. Compulsory surname laws were enacted in the German states of Bayern and Mecklenburg in 1813 and 1814. For each Germanic surname in this glossary, we have provided the English meaning, which may or may not be a surname in English. The acronyms OHG and MHG stand for Old High German and Middle High German, respectively. )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. You have Prussian ancestry, but cant find Prussia on modern maps. The list is an alphabetical overview of Bavarian nobility. Given that Prussia (the country) covered as much as ~135,000 square miles with a population of nearly 40 million people; names and dates are not enough to go on for a successful genealogical search. German Last Names and Their Meanings The Family History Library has large volumes of microfilm containing births, marriages and deaths from historical Prussia. Site Search. Most Jews did not adopt hereditary family names until required to do so by law. 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Some given names are often very different when translated into different languages, as shown by the following table. However, an attitude adjustment will help you solve your Prussia problems. Acker. German Names from Rottweil, Baden-Wrttemberg, 1441, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael Names of 1350 men and women, with a partial list of surnames. Another valuable tool can be the Prussia, Municipality Gazetteer, 1905 (Gemeindelexikon fr Knigreich Preussen) on Ancestry.com. The average life expectancy for Prussian in 1972 was 71, and 82 in 2002. To view this content, you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. 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. Alber (name) Albin (surname) Albrecht; Albrich; Alemann; Allerstorfer; Allmayer; Allram; Alms (disambiguation) Alpenheim; Alscher; Alt (surname) Alterman; Altermann; Altmaier (surname) Altmann (surname) A Complete List of Dutch Last Names + Meanings - FamilyEducation There are 18 military records available for the last name Prussian. Dukes of Prussia Junker (Prussia) A Althann Ambly des Ayvelles Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz Arco family Arnim family Arz von Wasegg Hans Adolf Erdmann von Auerswald Rudolf von Auerswald B Ballestrem Barnekow family Beissel von Gymnich Bentheim (noble family) Cornelius von Berenberg-Gossler Heinrich von Berenberg-Gossler Rabideau Henss Family Histories & Genealogy. Abram. From 1772-1829 and 1878-1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. 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. 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 One such group. Because German genealogical records were kept in various languages, you may find your ancestor's name in different languages at different times. Before record keeping began, most people had only one name, such as John. House of Alvensleben. This is especially true for Westfalen (Westphalia) and Hannover and parts of Rheinland and Schlesien (Silesia). Prussian Name Meaning 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). Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Prussian surname lived. In some areas of Germany, individuals took a second surname from the name of a farm.. Use of the ending may result in vowel changes, such as "Hnschen", which is "little Hans". Trade Surnames [edit | edit source]. View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Prussian. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed. The most common German surname is Mller (which translates as Miller). Listen to this articles German Origins in the United States: A Guide to Local History and Several books are available that list variant forms of given names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more. It is being seen as mocking India as the country overtakes China to become the world's most populous nation. 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. In January 1871 Germany became a unified country. Germanic Genealogy Society - Search Surname History of German Names. For example, Hans Petersen was a son of a man named Peter. So you think your ancestor was Prussian - ManyRoads Gender and grammar can affect German surname endings. A Complete List of German Last Names + Meanings Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Dialect spellings can often give a clue to the origin of the name and even the region where an ancestor lived. Count of Family Names in the 1776 Census Count of Family Names in the 1776 Census Compiled by Glenn Penner (gpenner@uoguelph.ca) The following table is a count of how many times each family name, or variation of that name, appears in the 1776 census of Mennonites in West Prussia. Category:German noble families - Wikipedia Germany - Names, Personal - Handbooks, manuals, etc. Once youve found your ancestral town of origin and located it on a map, you can consult a few different resources for Prussian records. German inflation had "peaked" however, he added, predicting it would slow from 5.9 per cent this year to 2.7 per cent next year. Find your last name and learn about its meaning and origins. Occupational name meaning "cooper, barrel maker" in German. She has a teaching degree and an M.A. 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. For example, the surname Meyer means dairy farmer today, whereas, during the Middle Ages, Meyer designated people who were stewards of landholders. As the various provinces and duchies of German fell under the rule of different countries, the language used in records could change. Or, at least, a record might identify a Provinz (province; plural is Provinzen) to narrow down the search to a particular area of Prussia. *We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs. These were then passed down through each generation. 2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. How Continue reading Two related pieces of information can come to your rescue. In 1940, Laborer was the top reported job for people in the USA named Prussian. 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. This is an Ashkenazi Jewish last name of German or Old English origins with the meaning 'plowed field.'. The list was initially created by searching for the most common last names in German telephone books. "The Top 100 German Surnames." Browse profiles of historical people with the Prussian last name, This page needs Javascript enabled in order to work properly. This was 100% of all the recorded Prussian's in USA. 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. The profile for each town name includes both German- and Polish-language place names, as well as what districts and parishes the villages belonged to. This list may not reflect recent changes. 100% of Prussian men worked as a Laborer. Why so many people consider themselves German, even though their ancestors lived in other countries, sometimes for hundreds of years. Category:German-language surnames - Wikipedia This writer is a part of the FamilyEducation editorial team. 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. (For more see Wikipedia). The following 110 pages are in this category, out of 110 total. If you are researching ancestors (family) it is possible that your family records are referring to this area. 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. Subjects were often reluctant to comply, so several decrees were needed. Because many of the Prussian areas were either destroyed (nearly completely) in the allied bombardments and assaults of WW2 and most Prussian areas were ethnically cleansed of 99+% of all native German speakers between 1945 and 1950, even tiny clues are most important. 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. But for the many Prussians who left via the port of Hamburg, embarkation lists show even more detailed information. Few of the latter are on the following list, but examples include Brinkmann, Berger, and Frank. It was ethnically cleansed of Germans by Poland, the Soviet Union and the allies after World War 2. Do not sell or share my personal information. Germans may also use "-el" as a diminutive ending. The cousin who came over with his family at the same time chose to use "Black". In many cases, the first reference to Prussian ancestry that you see will be from an American record. More about Hofnamen can be studied here. German (East Prussian) Submitted Surnames - Behind the Name 200 Common Jewish Last Names Or Surnames With Meanings - MomJunction Prussian Submitted Surnames - Behind the Name Patronymic names changed with each generation. Many people there had German ancestors who emigrated from Saltzburg and a variety of other German cities and states. Sign up for the Family Tree Newsletter Plus, you'll receive our 10 Essential Genealogy Research Forms PDF as a special thank you! The last name could, for example, also be what you would call a farm name. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed. If his wife inherited a farm, he might change his name to her maiden name. 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. The more clues you can unearth the better. For example: Althaus ("old house") Birnbaum ("pear tree") Category:Prussian nobility - Wikipedia Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names. German Eaglessingle head 640 years, double-headed 366 years, then single head ever since 1871. By the 1820s, most small German states had extended civil rights to Jews and required them to adopt surnames. In 1790, Baden was the first German state to require fixed surnames. Germanized form of a Slavic or Old Prussian name formed with lub- 'love', 'dear' (see Luba ). This gazetteer can be helpful in determining which Catholic and Protestant parishes a village belonged toinformation not found in the Meyers Gazetteer. A small collection of women's given names from Arnsburg, in Hessen. Saxony Church archives themselves are digitizing records from their congregations. Baptismal Sponsors In German-speaking areas, children were almost always named for one or more of their baptismal sponsors. Accola. 2. If major changes occur in the naming patterns or form used, that could indicate a ministerial change, perhaps one coming from another area. 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 Ingrid Bauer, who is fluent in German, has been teaching and tutoring the German language since 1996. Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The Top 100 German Surnames - ThoughtCo Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations. After a few generations, these names became hereditary and were passed on from generation to generation. Check these six sources for the name of your German immigrant ancestors home village. 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. Prussia was effectively abolished in 1932, and officially abolished in 1947. Within that name held two syllables which both held distinct meanings. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. Agnesia f German (East Prussian, Rare), German (Bessarabian), Medieval Italian Latinization of Agnes and Agnese. This topic comes up frequently and seems to cause a lot of confusion, especially here in the US. 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. 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. Your support, through donation or affiliate useage, allows ManyRoads to remain online. 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. 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. 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. Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. The Prussian family name was found in the USA between 1880 and 1920. Pommerscher Verein Freistadt - Surname Research 26). Some records preface names with occupations, and the occupation may erroneously be indexed as a given name. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/german-last-names-1444607. Prussian Name Meaning & Prussian Family History at Ancestry.com Althann. Life in the Past Lane Podcast! 1938. Although it is not obvious today, Prussia was once one of the worlds great powers. Different branches of the same family may adopt various surname spellings. In many areas of Germany there is a widespread use of "Hofnamen" or "farm names" used. You also wont want to miss the Germany-based supersite CompGen, which hosts research-aid primers for all of the former Prussian provinces, a historic gazetteer (GOV), and links to many regional groups. 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. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. 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).

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