SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L Archives

From: "D. Derr" <>
Subject: Forwarded message on on Nameing Laws.
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 12:02:48 -0800

Hi all,

Thanks for your input on the Naming laws. Now all can become more
understanding on what to keep in mind while researching in this area.

Before this next week is out we will probably have 100 or more
subscribers.

Keep it all comming.

Donald, Listowner SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN-ROOTS-L

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And / or
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***********************
Subject:Re: Naming laws
Date:Sun, 16 Nov 1997 10:47:42 -0500 (EST)
From:
To:

Seems we have a good discussion going on naming practices. I find that
just
one souce is not enough to understand the many different naming
practices.

"With an increasing population and interaction between it's members,
soon
one
Christian name was no longer sufficient for distinguishing persons from
one
another. Thus, "important" aristocratic families started to add the
name
of
their origin (region or location of a castle) to thier Christian names
(Rudolf von Habsburg) thus creating in Germany by the 11th century the
concept of the Familien name. Since it was added to the Christian
name..that
is, it came after it..it is also called Nachname or Zuname (last name).
This
same idea was employed by commoners Not until about 1800 was the prefix
"von"
definitely restricted to show an aristocratic lineage. By the 13th
century/14th, the use of family names had spread to most of the
population.
Either the name of the father (patronym) was added, or the region of
origin
the hometown, the profession, (Backer = baker, Bauer = farmer, Schmidt =
smith, Schneider = tailor, )or bodily or intellectual characteristics
(Klein
= small, Klug = smart). In Germany, the general practice was always for
a
woman to adopt her husband's name upon marriage. HOWEVER, sometimes a
husband would add his wife's family name to his own. IMPORTANT: also to
take
into consideration.: In rural areas, the owners of a farm sometimes are
known to their neighbors by a totally different family name than the one
shown in the birth or marriage register. This can happen when the
original,
often centuries old, name of a farm is passed on despite changes in the
owners' names. So a farm once owned by a family named Pfleger was known
as
Pflegerhof (Pfleger's farm). Today's ownmer may still be called Pfleger
(deriving his name from the farm) even though his official name is
Maier.
This
is called his Hofname (name of the farm) When a farmer has taken on the
name
of his farm, a double surname may result. Look for the words 'oder'
(or)
and
genamnnt (called) connecting double surnames. Official registration of
names: Since the 14th century (there are regional variations), parishes
kept
track of their members by entries and updates in the Kirchenbucher, or
Pfarrbucher (church registers). It belonged to the priest's, or
pastor's
most important duties to keep current the Tauf - Firmungs-Trauungs and
Totenbucher (baptism, confirmation, marriage and death records.) The
names
recorded therein became the OFFICIAL, legally binding names of a person.
While these church records are still kept today for church purposes,
since
1876 and the introduction of the law called the
Reichspersonenstandsgesetz,
the legally binding names are those officially registered by the
Standesamt
(registry office). Often more than one name is given to a child
(aristocrats
may have a dozen or so) and entered in the birth register. Usually the
first
one of those names was the one by which the parents wanted the child to
be
pri
marily know and called therefore this is the Rufname, sometimes called
the
Nenner. As further claification, the registrar underlines the Rufname
when
it is recorded in the church registry. This is not forever binding for
the
person involved, who later on in life may choose one of his other names
as
a
Rufname. (Source: Rainer Thumshirn, of Heimstetten, Germany)

I find that in doing research I have to take all of the information from
all
sources into consideration in order to understand the time period I am
working with and the areas that are involved. As you search, one will
also
find some of all in one area, and not another. Have to throw in Latin,
German and Danish in some of the records. Depending on the time span.
Also
for beginners, it is important to know that Schneider would signify a
male
name, and Schneiderin (same last name), would signify female name. Same
as
when chen is added (little) . The chen ending on a given name signifies
smallness, as in Gretchen (little Grete).

The patronymic naming system was prevalent in the areas of
Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover, northern Rheinland, and Westfalen. Laws
were
passed in VARIOUS areas in the 18th and 19th centuries to establish
permanent
surnames. In 1771 such a law was passed in the Schleswig area; in 1811
in
Ostfrieslan; in Prussia in 1816. (Taken from "The World of Germanic
Names:
Or, a German by Any other name May Be Your Ancestor," German
Genealogical
Digest, Vol. IR, No.1, 1988/

Further reading on naming practices. Hans Bahlow, Dictionary of German
Names, George F Jones, German American names, The World of Germanic
Names
by
Larry Jensen. A Genealogical Handbook of German Research by Larry
Jensen

This thread:

• Forwarded message on on Nameing Laws. by "D. Derr" <>